Both Kohli and Williamson have struggled to race in the current season.
While the Indian scored just 216 points in 11 games averaging 21.60, the SRH captain managed 199 points in 10 games averaging 22.11.
Both batting stars have failed to live up to the high standards they have set for themselves and both teams are hoping their star hitters can break the miserable run and provide more decisive contributions.
Kohli showed glimpses of returning to form in his 50s against Gujarat Titans. But he had a howl in the win against Chennai Super Kings in the previous game.
After hitting three bounds and a six, the former RCB skipper struggled to hit big shots, relying on singles which eventually led to teammate Glenn Maxwell’s burnout.
While Kohli himself could only manage a 33-ball 30. Williamson was a consistent goalscorer, relying on timing and ball placement.
However, he failed to convert starts into big scores. The Kiwi’s strike rate was a dismal 96.13. and he may need to be more aggressive in his approach.
After a five-game winning streak, the Sunrisers fell to three straight losses for a variety of reasons, including injuries to their front row bowlers. They are sixth in the points table.
SRH senior spinner Washington Sundar again injured his hand in bowling, while death specialist T Natarajan, the team’s highest wicket taker, also took a hit in the loss to CSK.
The duo then missed the match against the Delhi Capitals and the bowling unit struggled in his absence, making over 200 runs.
It remains to be seen if the two return for Sunday’s game. Marco Jansen has been ruled out but Tom Moody will be tempted to bring the South African back as he was the chief destroyer against RCB last time out.
Pacing sensation Umran Malik has been subdued by the Delhi batters and the youngster might want to work on developing some variations rather than picking up the pace every time he is hit for runs.
Kartik Tyagi and Shreyas Gopal also need to pull themselves together.
With the bat, Abhishek Sharma gave SRH strong starts but the youngster needs to deepen his innings rather than play a flash in the pan.
Virat Kohli
Nicholas Pooran has been brilliant in the last two games, showing he can finish games with a little help from the top end.
Incidentally, SRH’s last win came against RCB when they rounded up the Faf du Plessis led team for 68 and Army Orange hope the team can achieve a similar result.
For RCB, the bowlers made the rounds against CSK. With Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Wanindu Hasarnaga, the RCB have four winners, while Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed also played their part well.
While the focus would be on Kohli, RCB also has power hitters in Captain Du Plessis, Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaaz Ahmed who can be destructive to their day if they fire in unison.
They hope to extract a sweet revenge with the winning momentum on their side.
Teams (since) Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Kane Williamson (C), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Romario Shepherd, Marco Jansen, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar , Sean Abbott, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Tiwary, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.
Match information
Match date: May 8, Sunday
Match starts at 3:30 PM IST
Live TV: Star Sports Networks
Live Stream: Disney+ HotStar
