After finishing 4th in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the SunRisers Hyderabad are back in the game for IPL season 2020. The team, headed by David Warner will begin their campaign this season against Royal Challengers Bangalore, headed by Indian captain Virat Kohli at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

For this season the David Warner-led side have done away with the experience of Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda this year and in the IPL 2020 player auction, SRH signed the trio of Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, and Virat Singh.

RCB too made some new signings from the auction, roping in the services of Australian star opener Aaron Finch, South African all-rounder Chris Morris among others.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, since their inception in 2013, have performed consistently, reaching the playoffs five times in seven attempts, with a Title in 2016. However, opinion is split on SRH this season. On one hand, many believe their terrific opening combination, along with capable bowling attack, can be the catalyst for another strong season. On the contrary, there is the risk of too much reliance on the Warner-Bairstow combination, which was the case in 2019, where they qualified for the playoffs with more losses than wins.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be out to prove that this season is not like the others. That this season is indeed different. That this season could be the one. Their loyal fans are always greatly optimistic of their chances, but one feels that optimism has some merit this time around, with some key changes to the setup. In addition to Simon Katich and Mike Hesson at the helm, RCB had a more focused auction, seeking solutions to long-standing problems. However, much will also depend on how quickly they can strike the perfect combinations, build confidence and overcome mental scars of failure in key moments over the years.

For SRH, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson might not feature in the playing XI as David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Rashid Khan are three set overseas picks for SRH. The other overseas slot is likely to be taken by an all-rounder, with Mohammad Nabi, Fabian Allen and Mitchell Marsh the options. Also, SRH could look to play the very talented Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad, two of the excellent domestic talents to watch out for in IPL 2020.

AB de Villiers has been seen training with the wicket-keeping gloves, which could mean he starts the tournament as the keeper. So, Parthiv Patel could be left out, with either Kohli or the exciting Devdutt Padikkal to open. Also, given ABD has had his issues against spin in recent seasons, so he could be pushed lower down the order to take advantage of the death overs.

While SRH qualified for the playoffs last season but lost out in the eliminator, RCB finished at the bottom of the points table, and the Virat Kohli-led side will be hoping to put up a better show in IPL 2020.

On paper, both teams looks evenly matched. With the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, and Aaron Finch set to take the field, a high scoring encounter is expected, unlike the first two matches of IPL 2020.

Weather Forecast
The skies are expected to stay clear during the match time, and with no predictions for rainfall in Dubai on Monday. The temperature will remain around 35-36 degrees celsius. The weather is expected to be very warm with hazy sunshine. The fans should get another cracker of a contest between SRH and RCB.

Pitch Report
Ideally, the Dubai pitches behave on the slower side. But as visible from the last match played here between DC and KXIP, the pitch has even covering of grass which assists both the fast bowlers and spinners equally. Seamers should be able to extract a little bit of movement early on in the innings. Considering the nature of the pitch and the batting line-ups of both the teams, any score below 170 would be pretty easy to chase down.

Toss Prediction
A batting wicket could encourage teams to bat first in this game.

Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches 15, SRH 8, RCB 6, 1 abandoned match.
RCB have won two of their last three games against SRH, bouncing back to beat the men in orange in their final match last season.
RCB have the worst economy rate in overs 17-20 of any active team in IPL (10.46).

Approaching Milestones:
1 six and AB de Villiers will complete 200 IPL sixes.
Virat Kohli needs 88 runs to complete 5500 IPL runs.
Siddarth Kaul needs 1 wicket to complete 50 IPL wickets, if he plays.
Dale Steyn requires 4 more scalps to reach 100 IPL wickets mark.

Likely XIs:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Virat Singh, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Umesh Yadav/Dale Steyn, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Players to Watch Out For:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Chris Morris

Match Odds:
Sunrisers Hyderabad can be backed at 1.72
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2.10

IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians 5.5
Chennai Super Kings 5.5
Sunrisers Hyderabad 6
Delhi Capitals 6
Royal Challengers Bangalore 6.5
Kolkata Knight Riders 8
Kings XI Punjab 12
Rajasthan Royals 12

Match Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP