<p>Bengaluru: After much speculation on whether it will or won’t, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will finally host a high-profile cricket match in nearly 11 months when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in what promises to be an explosive start to the 19th season of the IPL with plenty of stakes in it for the Karnataka State Cricket Association.</p>.<p>Just one look at the batting firepower both sides possess, and it’s pretty certain they would be waiting to pull the trigger on Saturday and recreate the mayhem they did last year at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow when Ishan Kishan smashed a 48-ball 94 to power SRH to 231/6 and RCB threatened to chase it down after openers Phil Salt (62, 32b) and Virat Kohli (43, 25b) went berserk before falling apart when the two got dismissed.</p>.<p>Hardly anything has changed in terms of personnel for both teams, but given the wealth of batting resources at Royal Challengers’ disposal, the hosts face some tricky selection issues, and what playing XI — actually 12 considering the Impact Player rule — they put out for the season opener will give an early indication of how they want to go about their job this year.</p>.<p>The dilemma starts with the top, with at least three contenders for the opening slot. Virat Kohli is an automatic choice, but who of Salt and his young English compatriot Jacob Bethell will link up with the former skipper remains to be seen. Salt was brilliant last season, scoring 403 runs in 13 games at a scorching strike rate of 175.98, often setting the tempo for RCB while Kohli bided his time before switching gears.</p>.<p>The concern though is that Salt is checking into IPL on the back of a poor T20 World Cup for England, where he managed just 130 runs in eight games. On the other hand, the 22-year-old Bethell is buzzing with confidence, having scored an exceptional century in the semifinal, where he almost ruined India’s party in Mumbai. </p>.<p>Even in the ‘nets’, Salt has looked edgy, while Bethell has appeared assured. However, RCB may stick with Salt, but will they use Bethell as a finisher, considering No. 3 and 4 are taken by the in-form Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Rajat Patidar?</p>.<p>The game will also offer a sneak peek into RCB’s bowling reserves’ potential, as two of last season’s top performers — Yash Dayal and Josh Hazlewood — will be missing in action. While Dayal, in the middle of a legal wrangle, has ruled himself out of the season, Hazlewood, who arrived in the Garden City on Thursday, may miss a few games as he looks to get back into the groove following months on the sidelines due to a double injury. </p>.<p>This means RCB will be forced to play unheralded pacers like Rasikh Dar, Abhinandan Singh and Mangesh Yadav to pair up with the seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jacob Duffy, and how well these domestic picks respond, especially against a batting-heavy side like SRH, could have season-lasting implications.</p>.<p>Sunrisers, who possibly have the most marauding batting line-up with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Liam Livingstone, will be looking to replicate the same all-out aggressive style of batting that got them mixed results last season. If they get going, or even RCB for that matter, it could be what the Bengaluru faithful had been waiting patiently for a long time.</p>.<p>Cut-off box - Thushara ruled out of initial phase Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered another blow with Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Thushara ruled out of the initial phase of the Indian Premier League reports DHNS. According to a Cricinfo report Thushara was ruled out after failing a mandatory Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) fitness test and was denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC). </p>
<p>Bengaluru: After much speculation on whether it will or won’t, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will finally host a high-profile cricket match in nearly 11 months when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in what promises to be an explosive start to the 19th season of the IPL with plenty of stakes in it for the Karnataka State Cricket Association.</p>.<p>Just one look at the batting firepower both sides possess, and it’s pretty certain they would be waiting to pull the trigger on Saturday and recreate the mayhem they did last year at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow when Ishan Kishan smashed a 48-ball 94 to power SRH to 231/6 and RCB threatened to chase it down after openers Phil Salt (62, 32b) and Virat Kohli (43, 25b) went berserk before falling apart when the two got dismissed.</p>.<p>Hardly anything has changed in terms of personnel for both teams, but given the wealth of batting resources at Royal Challengers’ disposal, the hosts face some tricky selection issues, and what playing XI — actually 12 considering the Impact Player rule — they put out for the season opener will give an early indication of how they want to go about their job this year.</p>.<p>The dilemma starts with the top, with at least three contenders for the opening slot. Virat Kohli is an automatic choice, but who of Salt and his young English compatriot Jacob Bethell will link up with the former skipper remains to be seen. Salt was brilliant last season, scoring 403 runs in 13 games at a scorching strike rate of 175.98, often setting the tempo for RCB while Kohli bided his time before switching gears.</p>.<p>The concern though is that Salt is checking into IPL on the back of a poor T20 World Cup for England, where he managed just 130 runs in eight games. On the other hand, the 22-year-old Bethell is buzzing with confidence, having scored an exceptional century in the semifinal, where he almost ruined India’s party in Mumbai. </p>.<p>Even in the ‘nets’, Salt has looked edgy, while Bethell has appeared assured. However, RCB may stick with Salt, but will they use Bethell as a finisher, considering No. 3 and 4 are taken by the in-form Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Rajat Patidar?</p>.<p>The game will also offer a sneak peek into RCB’s bowling reserves’ potential, as two of last season’s top performers — Yash Dayal and Josh Hazlewood — will be missing in action. While Dayal, in the middle of a legal wrangle, has ruled himself out of the season, Hazlewood, who arrived in the Garden City on Thursday, may miss a few games as he looks to get back into the groove following months on the sidelines due to a double injury. </p>.<p>This means RCB will be forced to play unheralded pacers like Rasikh Dar, Abhinandan Singh and Mangesh Yadav to pair up with the seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jacob Duffy, and how well these domestic picks respond, especially against a batting-heavy side like SRH, could have season-lasting implications.</p>.<p>Sunrisers, who possibly have the most marauding batting line-up with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen and Liam Livingstone, will be looking to replicate the same all-out aggressive style of batting that got them mixed results last season. If they get going, or even RCB for that matter, it could be what the Bengaluru faithful had been waiting patiently for a long time.</p>.<p>Cut-off box - Thushara ruled out of initial phase Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered another blow with Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Thushara ruled out of the initial phase of the Indian Premier League reports DHNS. According to a Cricinfo report Thushara was ruled out after failing a mandatory Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) fitness test and was denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC). </p>