RCB beware! Ex-CSK player predicts 'night to remember' for Sunrisers Hyderabad star
· Yahoo Sports
'Night to remember' - that’s what former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin predicted ahead of the IPL 2026 opening match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The two sides will clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'Ash ki Baat', Ashwin picked Sunrisers Hyderabad’s swashbuckling batter Heinrich Klaasen to go big on Saturday night. He also backed England’s Jacob Bethell for RCB, who had a brilliant T20 World Cup, top-scoring for England with 280 runs in eight innings, including a masterclass 48-ball 105 in the semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium while chasing 250-odd runs.
"I have a strange feeling for this match. In the last 18 months, this guy has not done much wonders. A strange feeling that Heinrich Klaasen is going to have a night to remember, I don't know why. From RCB's side, I think Jacob Bethell will be the power player of the day," he said.
The SRH batting order is power-packed, consisting of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma as openers, followed by Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, and Aniket Verma. The Men in Orange have one of the finest batting line-ups in terms of strike rate, and a 300-run total in the IPL could be on the cards if they fire on all cylinders.
However, Klaasen has not been able to fire consistently since his retirement from international cricket. Once a fiery T20 league globetrotter, Klaasen has struggled for runs for the most part. In 65 matches after the 2024 T20 World Cup final, where his side failed to cross the line despite his valiant fifty, Klaasen has scored 1,440 runs in 59 innings at an average of 28.80 and a strike rate of 148.76, with a century and seven fifties.
He also had a disappointing SA20 season four recently, scoring just 138 runs in seven innings at an average of 19.71 and a strike rate of 128.97, with a best score of 29.
Speaking again on 'Ash ki Baat', Ashwin reiterated that while Klaasen could be the power player of the day for SRH, it could be England’s rising sensation Jacob Bethell for RCB, who had a brilliant T20 World Cup, top-scoring for England with 280 runs in eight innings, including a masterclass 48-ball 105 in the semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium while chasing 250-odd runs.
"I have a strange feeling for this match. In the last 18 months, this guy has not done much wonders. A strange feeling that Heinrich Klaasen is going to have a night to remember, I don't know why. From RCB's side, I think Jacob Bethell will be the power player of the day," he said.
Ashwin noted that in the past two matches, SRH have got the better of RCB by posting gigantic totals — 231 in the 2025 edition at Lucknow, with a fine 94 from Ishan Kishan being the highlight, and a massive 287 at Bengaluru in the 2024 edition. SRH won both matches by 42 runs and 25 runs respectively. The all-rounder sees this trend continuing, pointing out that RCB are without Hazlewood.
"SRH have got the better of RCB in the recent past, and they will follow in this game also, I feel that this game will also follow that trend, for strange reasons that RCB are without Hazlewood. In that game in Lucknow last year, as well, Hazlewood was not there, if I am not wrong," he said.
He also said that apart from Indian veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, RCB does not have much strength to control the run flow in the death overs.
"In RCB, we always have to remember that death overs bleed. If wickets are in hand, then it is not only difficult to stop runs in the death overs, it is impossible," he signed off.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'Ash ki Baat', Ashwin picked Sunrisers Hyderabad’s swashbuckling batter Heinrich Klaasen to go big on Saturday night. He also backed England’s Jacob Bethell for RCB, who had a brilliant T20 World Cup, top-scoring for England with 280 runs in eight innings, including a masterclass 48-ball 105 in the semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium while chasing 250-odd runs.
"I have a strange feeling for this match. In the last 18 months, this guy has not done much wonders. A strange feeling that Heinrich Klaasen is going to have a night to remember, I don't know why. From RCB's side, I think Jacob Bethell will be the power player of the day," he said.
The SRH batting order is power-packed, consisting of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma as openers, followed by Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, and Aniket Verma. The Men in Orange have one of the finest batting line-ups in terms of strike rate, and a 300-run total in the IPL could be on the cards if they fire on all cylinders.
However, Klaasen has not been able to fire consistently since his retirement from international cricket. Once a fiery T20 league globetrotter, Klaasen has struggled for runs for the most part. In 65 matches after the 2024 T20 World Cup final, where his side failed to cross the line despite his valiant fifty, Klaasen has scored 1,440 runs in 59 innings at an average of 28.80 and a strike rate of 148.76, with a century and seven fifties.
He also had a disappointing SA20 season four recently, scoring just 138 runs in seven innings at an average of 19.71 and a strike rate of 128.97, with a best score of 29.
Speaking again on 'Ash ki Baat', Ashwin reiterated that while Klaasen could be the power player of the day for SRH, it could be England’s rising sensation Jacob Bethell for RCB, who had a brilliant T20 World Cup, top-scoring for England with 280 runs in eight innings, including a masterclass 48-ball 105 in the semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium while chasing 250-odd runs.
"I have a strange feeling for this match. In the last 18 months, this guy has not done much wonders. A strange feeling that Heinrich Klaasen is going to have a night to remember, I don't know why. From RCB's side, I think Jacob Bethell will be the power player of the day," he said.
Ashwin noted that in the past two matches, SRH have got the better of RCB by posting gigantic totals — 231 in the 2025 edition at Lucknow, with a fine 94 from Ishan Kishan being the highlight, and a massive 287 at Bengaluru in the 2024 edition. SRH won both matches by 42 runs and 25 runs respectively. The all-rounder sees this trend continuing, pointing out that RCB are without Hazlewood.
"SRH have got the better of RCB in the recent past, and they will follow in this game also, I feel that this game will also follow that trend, for strange reasons that RCB are without Hazlewood. In that game in Lucknow last year, as well, Hazlewood was not there, if I am not wrong," he said.
He also said that apart from Indian veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, RCB does not have much strength to control the run flow in the death overs.
"In RCB, we always have to remember that death overs bleed. If wickets are in hand, then it is not only difficult to stop runs in the death overs, it is impossible," he signed off.
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