The tournament is slowly picking up pace. Teams are in the quest to find the right combination and momentum to surge ahead. The tournament has now moved to Ahmedabad and Delhi leg.
Rajasthan Royals: Form
Rajasthan Royals fought till the very end in their first two games. They narrowly lost against PK in their first game. RR valiantly stayed in the chase of a gargantuan total. They made amends in the second game against DC. Their tactic of taking pace off the ball worked wonderfully well. RR restricted DC to a below-par score of 147. They were struggling at one stage (42-5) chasing the total. Their foreign players, David Miller and Chris Morris bailed them out. But they came a cropper against CSK.
RR were completely outplayed and this must have dented their confidence. Their bowling came short and their batting looked clueless. RCB trashed RR in their last game. RR lost by 10 wickets to RCB. But RR stunningly reversed their fortunes and came back to post a clinical win over KKR. They suffered a loss against MI. The team has been hamstrung by pullouts and injuries. RR’s biggest opportunity lies in its adversity.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Form
Sunrisers Hyderabad played all their initial 5 games at the Chepauk, Chennai. They lost their first 3 games from a position where they could have won the match. SRH’s infamous middle order again proved to be their Achilles heel. They literally seem to have no answers to the batting collapses. SRH finally won against PK and won comfortably. The return of Kane Williamson strengthened the squad. He almost took them to victory against DC but faltered at the last step. SRH have been let down by some questionable tactics. Post their loss against CSK, SRH management have sacked David Warner as their captain and appointed Kane Williamson as their new leader. They are clearly a side in turmoil.
RR vs SRH: Favourites?
Rajasthan Royals look a depleted outfit. They are thin on the overseas contingent, Indian batting depth, and even in the spin department. The fact that they have managed to post 2 wins from 6 games comes as a surprise. RR were in a dominant position in the last game batting first. But Shivam Dube’s painstaking innings cost them the game. RR will be looking to plug that gap.
Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other hand have failed to get going. Their strange on-field and off-field tactics have cost them a couple of games. SRH management have appointed Kane Williamson as their captain for the remainder of the season. These drastic measures are signs of a desperate team. SRH known for its cool and calm demeanour is caught at the opposite end of the spectrum this year.
Which players will be match-winners in this game?
Sanju Samson scored a brilliant century in IPL 2019 against SRH. He will love to rekindle his batting affair with them.
Rashid Khan has troubled Jos Buttler more often than not. Expect SRH to bring in Rashid Khan during the powerplay to trouble Buttler.
X-factor player:
Chris Morris has been RR’s talisman this season. Expect RR to shoulder more responsibility from their big-ticket signing.
Jason Roy is widely expected to replace David Warner at the top. He and Jonny Bairstow can form a dangerous opening pair at the top. SRH badly need this duo to fire.
Probable Playing XI:
Rajasthan Royals predicted XI:
Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (WK), David Miller, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya
Sunrisers Hyderabad predicted XI:
Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Abhishek Sharma/ Abdul Samad, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Jagadeesha Suchith, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed
What do stats say about RR vs SRH?
RR and SRH have played 13 IPL games against each other.
RR has won 6 matches. SRH has won 7 games.
RR’s highest score against SRH is 198. SRH’s highest score against RR is 201.
RR’s lowest score against SRH is 102. SRH’s lowest score against RR is 127.
Pitch:
The Delhi pitch has surprisingly played well in both the games so far this season. It stayed true for the entire course of 40 overs. Teams will enjoy batting under these conditions.
Weather Report:
A high of 42 degrees and a low of 25 degrees is expected. There are no chances of rain. Heat will be a factor for teams fielding first.
Ground stats:
150 is the average score at this venue. But if the last few matches are anything to go by then 175 might just be a par score.
StumpsandBails verdict:
It is the clash of the bottom rankers. RR camp is slightly in better shape as compared to SRH.
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