RCB vs SRH: Klaasen Eyes 2,000 Runs, Patidar Nears Six-Hitting Milestone

There will be plenty of exciting milestones and match-ups to watch out for as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) take on hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their final league stage game in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Red and Gold side is more or less confirmed a spot in the Qualifier one, while the Men in Orange, who are undefeated at home this season, will be aiming to topple second-placed Gujarat Titans (GT) in the net-run-rate to book a ticket to Qualifier one.

Here are some match-ups and milestones to look forward to in the match:

Heinrich Klaasen 31 runs away from 2,000 IPL runs for SRH

Klaasen has been going strong for SRH for the past four seasons, having registered four successive seasons of 400-plus runs.

He is just 31 runs away from becoming the fifth player to reach 2,000 IPL runs. In 55 matches and 52 innings, he has made 1,969 runs at an average of 45.79 and a strike rate of 168.14, including two centuries and 12 fifties, as per ESPNCricinfo.

This season, he is enjoying a rich run of form with 555 runs in 13 innings at an average of 50.45 and a strike rate of 155.89, including five fifties and a best score of 69.

Patidar just one away from 100 IPL sixes, locks horns with Abhishek Sharma in battle vs spin

The RCB skipper has been belting out sixes at will this season, having slammed 337 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate of 192.57, three fifties and 31 sixes.

A spin bully, Patidar has been exceptional against them this season, having the highest strike rate of 214 (among the batters with a minimum of 50 balls faced).

But just behind him is Abhishek, who has put his T20 World Cup demons against spin pace him and struck at 213.22 against them, as per ESPNCricinfo.

A battle of two world-class bowling attacks

On one side is the veteran pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood for RCB, and on the other side is a young SRH pace unit of Eshan Malinga, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain spearheaded by Australian superstar Pat Cummins.

As per ESPNCricinfo, SRH is the best team in terms of death-overs economy rate so far this season (9.62), with RCB (10.07) being the second-placed side here.

Bhuvneshwar vs Abhishek: The veteran up against a ruthlessly aggressive ex-teammate

Bhuvneshwar and Abhishek once shared the SRH for years, and the pacer has watched Abhishek's rise to superstardom from close quarters.

However, since changing sides, Bhuvneshwar has managed to keep Abhishek quiet, conceding just 14 runs in 11 balls at a strike rate of 127.27, a massive downgrade from his career SR of almost 170, as per Cricbuzz.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have decided to bat first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Friday.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain.

(With inputs from ANI)