Virat Kohli, having said that he has never felt as good — “calm” in his words — before an IPL season as this time, will hope his mood doesn’t change after the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening game of the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
Kohli’s counterpart, David Warner, has promised that they will give their “best” and is confident that Sunrisers have a pretty “balanced” squad this time.
The pressure will be more on Kohli as he leads a team which is infamous as the perennial under-achievers.
Both teams possess dangerous batsmen who can single-handedly take the game away from the opposition.
Kohli has always led from the front but he knows his search for a maiden title will remain incomplete if the team doesn’t perform in all departments. The addition of Australian limited overs captain Aaron Finch to the squad gives the star-studded batting line-up more firepower. Expectations are also high from highly rated young opener Devdutt Padikal.
On the other hand, Warner, whose exploits in the IPL include winning the Orange Cap thrice and leading his side to a maiden title triumph in 2016, will once again pair up with the dangerous Jonny Bairstow. The formidable opening duo, who shattered multiple records, including the highest opening partnership in IPL history against RCB last season, will hope to emulate the previous edition’s exploits.
Sunrisers also have the batting prowess of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mitchell Marsh and Fabian Allen.
Following a nightmarish 2019 season when they finished last, RCB seem to have much better balance but there ability to hit late in the innings is yet to be tested.
Sunrisers’ blind spot also lies in the lack of depth in their batting order. The franchise has invested in youngsters like Virat Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad.
“We will try our best for that and if it doesn’t happen, will re-work our strategies and hope to go the distance in the IPL,” Warner said during a virtual media interaction. “Every team has a perfect mix of world-class overseas players and quality Indian players. Ours is a pretty good balanced side in all departments.
“The boys have to just go out there and have fun, not take it too seriously.
“Like if you get angry you will tend to repeat the mistakes.”
About the team’s youngsters, Warner said: “Yes, it is good to have a lot of youngsters in the middle-order. They bring a lot of enthusiasm and show the right kind of attitude, too. I have been hearing some very good reports about it on social media and hope they translate their talent into performances.”
A team that is known for its depth and variation in bowling, Sunrisers’ core unit remains unchanged.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the pace department with Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul and Basil Thampi playing secondary roles.
Armed with the presence of the top T20 bowler Afghanistan leggie Rashid Khan and No.1 all-rounder in the format Mohammed Nabi, who was in a terrific form in the recently-concluded CPL, Sunrisers have one of the best spin bowling attacks.
RCB also boast of a potent spin unit, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will again be the key as he has been over the past seasons with Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Adam Zampa and Moeen Ali lending more options.