Known for his aggression on the field and off it, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s captain Virat Kohli has learnt to take life as it comes. The captain of the Indian Test captain, who is branded to lose his cool at the drop of a hat, has started to smile a bit when the chips are down. According to some of the insiders, Kohli is showing his matured side in the ongoing IPL. He is much more patient and looking to learn the tricks of the trade from MS Dhoni, which the former Australian captain Steve Waugh once advised him to do so.
As IPL is in the business end of things, all eyes will be on Kohli again and how he guides RCB to the next level. After RCB messed up in their last encounter against the Kings on Wednesday night in a rain-affected match, a win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad is a must to tighten their grip in the overall standing of the league. With likes of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Kohli in the line-up, no team will RCB lightly. But you can’t also take a team like the Sunrisers, where a top run-getter like David Warner is at the helm of affairs.
Playing the match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal in Hyderabad is the only advantage the Sunrisers will have before the first ball is bowled. Otherwise, it will be another battle of the equals. Both the teams have played 12 matches, but the Sunrisers are ahead of RCB by a point. The only major difference between these two sides is that the Sunrisers have lost one extra game than RCB. Up to now, if the hosts have lost seven matches, RCB were beaten on six occasions.
But this is hardly a factor, as there are other big reasons in the match, which will make it a very interesting battle between the bat and ball. One of them is RCB’s Mitchell’s Starc’s first spell against the Sunrisers openers – Warner and Shikhar Dhawan. It will be a captivating and will be a very crucial moment of the match. That is because the first six overs of an innings set the pace and momentum of a match and, in any, who knows what is in store after high-octane contest gets over!
