JAIPUR, Apr 28: Rajasthan Royals’ desire to move up the pecking order got a boost following an incredible win a week ago, and the mid-table team would look to keep the momentum going in its IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad here tomorrow.
The Royals are aware of the challenges facing them at the Sawai Mansingh Stadum, a few days after Sunrisers Hyderabad got the better of Kings XI Punjab to grab the second position in the standings.
While SRH have won five out of their seven games so far, Rajasthan Royals are placed fifth with three victories and as many losses.
Rajasthan were on their way to suffer back-to-back defeats before a superb cameo from all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham helped them stun Mumbai Indians by three wickets last Sunday.
The hosts are looking forward to skipper Ajinkya Rahane to lead them by example, and the India Test vice-captain must be eager to live up to the expectations.
With his explosive hitting, the immensely talented Sanju Samson is turning out to be RR’s batting mainstay, and another big one could be in the offing.
Samson is high on confidence having played a few significant knocks so far in the cash-rich league.
The English duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler add muscle to Rajasthan’s batting, and they are always keen to have a good hit in the middle.
Rajasthan’s bowling department is shouldered by medium pacers Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat Ben Laughlin and Krishnappa Gowtham, who bowls off-breaks.
It may be an way game for them but Sunrisers Hyderabad will still fancy their chances.
Despite losing their skipper David Warner as a result of the one-year ban imposed on the Australian run-machine due to ball tampering, Sunrisers Hyderabad showed tremendous fighting abilities and the very impressive win ratio is proof of that.
While revenge may on RR’s mid having lost the first leg game by nine wickets, the home team will need to play out of its skin to come out winners tomorrow.
Batting lynchpin Shikhar Dhawan will look to make merry, having missed out on the previous match against KXIP.
A certain Kane Williamson is always an asset to any team while Manish Pandey’s confidence has surely gone up after what proved to be a critical half-century against KXIP.
The likes of Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan add depth to their batting.
The world’s top-ranked T20 bowler, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has led SRH’s spin attack with some success, and they have the ever-reliable Bhuvneshwar Kumar spearhead the pace department.
Khan was outstanding against Kings XI Punjab, returning figures of three for 19 in four overs. The likes of Shakib-al-Hasan, Billy Stanlake Siddaharth Kaul complete SRH’s attack.
Teams (from):
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shakib Al Hasan, Manish Pandey, Carlos Brathwaite, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha, Rashid Khan, Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda, Siddarth Kaul, T Natarajan, Mohammad Nabi, Basil Thampi, K Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Sachin Baby, Chris Jordan, Billy Stanlake, Tanmay Agarwal, Shreevats Goswami, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Alex Hale.
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Ankit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Jofra Archer, Stuart Binny, Aryaman Birla, Jos Buttler, Dushmantha Chameera, Prashant Chopra, Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham, Heinrich Klaasen, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ben Laughlin, Mahipal Lomror, Sudhesan Midhun, Sanju Samson, Jatin Saxena, D’Arcy Short, Ish Sodhi, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Jaydev Unadkat. (AGENCIES)
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