In this IPL 2016 both Bangalore and Hyderabad had contrasting matches in league matches. RCB lost initial matches and they won 6 matches in the trot. On the other hand SRH has won matches comfortably baffling out MI in both matches and some others teams with an comfortable wins. In play off also they have had a upper hand with GL because of the form Warner had.
If you look at both teams they are with an momentum and RCB winning the last 6 to 8 matches they have the upper hand given the fact the ABD,VK are in red hot farm and the latter is form of his life. In SRH Warner and yuvi is playing to their strengths. Dhawan have had an habit of playing in big stages and his menace performance in World Cup final, supporting game in Asia cup suggests that he will play in better mode today. This will definitely help SRH since other than yuvi and Hooda middle order is not so balanced for SRH. But for RCB their line up is formidable.On paper RCB has many stars unlike SRH and that might help RCB in certain terms.
In the bowling front Chahal is in form turning th balls away from batsmen. For SRH bhuvi is holding purple cap. Both are very much consistent throughout the tournament. Though Chahal dosent turn as much as others he has the courage to toss the ball up even when he gets hit. Bhuvi is swinging beautifully and ripping his rewards consistently. And he has the support of mustafizur Rahman. Given the fact of his injury it is an worst news for Warner and Co. They might be praying for his play today. But sran is also bowling well and with services of part time bowlers SRH looks good with bowling.
On paper RCB is stronger than SRH in batting and SRH is strong in bowling. But for RCB Gayle has to score runs and support Kholi for settling down. In SRH that relies on Dhawan and his play is crucial today. Given the case that SRH pains toss and opts to bat first Dhawan and Warner might play a good batting and score around 180+ it will be really difficult for RCB to chase considering they have almost lost to GL in play offs barring ABD. In case of RCB batting first Gayle’s hitting will be the factor for the them if they are to score above 190.
Since RCB has always been a contender of the cup in almost all the tournament as favourites this is the one game that the have an upper hand. Not to forget the form of Warner and yuivs chipping with some good shots for SRH.
So the the match today will be RCBs batting vs SRHs bowling.
Whichever clicks they will come out victorious.
Since you have directly asked who is going to win I think RCB will come up considering they bat first,score 190+ due to the home ground advantage. But toss will definitely decide today’s match
Originally Answered: Which Team is favourite to win IPL 9 ?
It will be Mumbai Indians again this year.
They have secured most number of players. This means, their playing XI will be most likely similar. If we put light on the current domestic and international cricket, Rohit Sharma is in form of life, Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have booked their birth in Indian cricket team with their performances, Parthiv Patel was pretty successful in domestic T20 tournament and Ranji Trophy.
Looking at their international players, Malinga and Pollard are no doubt the best assets they have and these 2 have always performed as per the expectation. Corey Anderson and Jos Buttler are in decent form too.
With these players, they will surely have the upper hand and like RCB, these players do not go for individual glory, but are well gelled as a team.
Originally Answered: Which Team is favourite to win IPL 9 ?
I have divided the teams on their strength in ten broad areas of batting, bowling and presence of match winners.
In the table below:
Red(0): A problematic side. No proven players in the conditions. Inconsistency.
Yellow(1): Some what addressed area. Still lot of improvement required. Vulnerable at times.
Light Green(2): Almost secured area. Good players to address the need.
Dark Green(3): Proven match winners and specialists to do the job.
I have allotted 3 for dark green, 2 for light green, 1 for yellow and 0 for Red.
So, according to this, Mumbai Indians seems to have a very balanced side. Pune, RCB and KKR are also strong on paper. Delhi have a good side but they need proven match winners.
Here is the starting XI according to me for each side. There might be a few changes which I have noted:
Delhi Daredevils: In some matches, they might not play with Braithwaite and Morris together, Depending on pitch conditions, they might be tempted to include Coulter-Nile or Imran Tahir. Mayank Agarwal and Nair can be seen swapping places. Shahbaz Nadeem is a good perspective but DD might not play him over expensive Negi or Amit Mishra. It would be interesting to see if U-19 stars Pant, Lomror and Khaleel get chances to play. With Sir Dravid as mentor, we might very well witness that.
Gujarat Lions: Middle order is a problem. Praveen Kumar/ Sangwan may play against Dhawal Kulkarni. Tambe and Jakati might swap places. Bravo and Faulkner may share the spot. Or if they can risk a Dale Steyn, they might play both. D Smith, A Finch and BMac will be in the opening slot. We may see Dwivedi and Dogra exchanging places as well. I would be happy if Ishan Kishan (U19 India captain) is given a chance.
Kings XI Punjab: If they persist with Miller, Marsh and Maxwell, Abott and Mitch Jhonson would be sharing one spot. Gurkeerat and Rishi Dhawan might also contest among themselves. Cariappa is a good prospect but he might not play over Axar Patel. Shardul Thakur may play in place of Sandeep or Mohit Sharma.
Mumbai Indians: By far the most settled side. Buttler and Patel must play together (individual thought). But they might play Chand or Simmons as well. It will be difficult for other bowlers to replace Bumrah and Malinga. Bowlers like Southee, McCleneghan, deLange, Vinay Kumar will find it difficult. If Malinga is not fit, McCleneghan would be the first choice. However, I am very much excited to see if Nathu Singh is given a game.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Choices available between Russel/ Shakib, Munro and Lynn, Morkel and Holder. Though I believe the former three will make the cut. Shakib can be handy on turning Kolkata pitches though. Unadkat might play if Umesh Yadaav continues to misfire.
Pune Super Giants: Marsh, Albie and Perera will be preferred in that particular order. If they want to include Zampa, they would probably get rid of either of Faf/Smith or Pietersen and include S Tiwary/ Baba Aparajith. Ishwar Pandey might get a game or two in place of RPSingh or Ishant. Baba Aparajith is an interesting prospect.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Powerhouse of power hitters. There are so many options in the bowling department and I think they will continue to change people. Wiese, Milne, Badree , Richardson will be difficult to include in case Starc plays. Jadhav might play in place of Mandeep and if they wish to keep ABD out of the keeping job. Iqbal Abdulla, Parvez Rasool might swap places. There are so many permutations available for their bowling department.
Sun Risers Hyderabad: Toss between Boult and Mustafizur for sure. Hooda’s place will be experimented with Tare, Suman, Bhui, VShankar etc. Morgan and Henriques will share a spot.
My take on semifinalists: RCB, MI, RPS and KKR/DD.