IPL 2024: Aakash Chopra focuses on three batters ahead of clash between SRH and RCB

Cricket expert Aakash Chopra has identified three SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batters to keep an eye on in their upcoming IPL 2024 match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The game is set to take place at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, April 15. With three wins out of their first five matches, a victory against RCB would help SRH join two other teams with eight points.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra mentioned that he wouldn’t focus on any SRH bowlers in particular. Instead, he highlighted the team’s openers, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, as two players worth watching.

Chopra shares his opinion

“Let’s start with Abhishek Sharma. Abhishek Sharma has the might. He is a good player, is in excellent form and his bat is striking the ball very well. He has already won two Player of the Match awards this year. So he is a player you will have to be wary of. I am not picking even one Hyderabad bowler,” he stated.

“I am saying my second player will be Travis Head. Based on whatever we have seen, and Faf (du Plessis) has also said the same, the first six overs prove very costly for them (RCB). So if Hyderabad have to win and build proper pressure, it takes time to beat someone with force, but if you hit them mentally, the job becomes easy,” the former India opener added.

Abhishek Sharma, a young Indian talent, has been in impressive form, scoring 177 runs at a striking rate of 208.23 in five innings. Meanwhile, Australian opener Travis Head has contributed 133 runs in four games, showcasing a striking rate of 172.72.

“When they (RCB) don’t pick up a wicket and 60-70 runs are scored in the first six overs, Bengaluru concede half the match in their mind, that what will happen to them and nothing can be done. Travis Head will like this ground. Since his fifty in the first match, sparks have been seen but the proper fire hasn’t been lit, and it might get lit in this match,” he elaborated.

Chopra says for Heinrich Klaasen, “His hands might be itching…”

“The third player is Heinrich Klaasen. He didn’t get many chances to do anything in the last two matches. His hands might be itching, that he will hit now. He hits a lot in any case. He doesn’t need a reason to hit,” he said (9:05).

“If the opposing bowling is not that good, the pitch is good and the ground is small, he might hit the ball to Cubbon Park, this batter definitely has that much power,” the renowned commentator added.

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Another SRH player to watch out for is Heinrich Klaasen, who has been a powerhouse with the bat in IPL 2024. With a total of 186 runs and 17 sixes to his name, Klaasen boasts an impressive striking rate of 193.75 in five innings. Only Nicholas Pooran and Riyan Parag have hit more sixes than him in this year’s IPL.