Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2017: Upcoming stats

Defending IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad, under the inspiring leadership of David Warner, will take on Virat Kohli-less Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first game of the 2017 tournament.

The 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) will commence with two giants – Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore – squaring off on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. This will be a rematch of the 2016 IPL final clashed in which a magnificent show by Warner and Ben Cutting helped SRH beat RCB by eight runs to secure their maiden title.

Chris Gayle is on the verge of entering a very special club in Twenty20s ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2017. (PTI)

The battle between both high-quality teams will be a treat. In nine games, both SRH and RCB have won four games each, with Sunrisers also winning a super-over encounter in 2013. Going into this encounter, SRH would like to continue from where they left. As for RCB, they’ll eye revenge but without the services of their key players - Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and KL Rahul – things might get a little tough for three-time IPL finalists.

Here’s a look at the approaching milestones for some of SRH and RCB players ahead of their first meeting in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League.

63 – No. of runs Chris Gayle needs to score to become the first batsman to cross the 10,000-run mark in the history of T20s.

8 – No. of boundaries David Warner needs to hit to become fourth batsman in the history of T20s to score 700+ boundary fours. Others are Chris Gayle (759), Brendon McCullum (709) and Brad Hodge (707)

79 – No. of runs the SRH skipper requires to become fourth batsman in the history of T20s to cross 7000-run mark. Others are Chris Gayle (9937), Brendon McCullum (7371) and Brad Hodge (7378)

1 – No. of catches Naman Ojha, SRH wicket-keeper, needs to take to become the fifth wicket-keeper in the history of T20s to pouch 100+catches. Others are Kumar Sangakkara (123), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (118), Dinesh Karthik (113) and Kamran Akmal (110)

5 - If Virat Kohli smashes a century, then he will share the record for most centuries in IPL with Chris Gayle, who also has five to his name

2 - No. of scalps Ashish Nehra needs to grab to become the eighth bowler in IPL to take 100 or more wickets.

- With inputs from HR Gopalakrishna-