Rajasthan Royals will hope to keep their playoff goals alive when they take on the struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 40 of IPL 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams come into this match recovering from a defeat in the previous fixture.
Punjab Kings defeated SRH while RR were dominated by Delhi Capitals.
Here is the preview and analysis of the match between RR and SRH.
SWOT for SRH
Strengths: Leg spinner Rashid Khan remains the team’s sole saving grace this season. He is the team’s leading wicket-taker with 12 scalps. He has bowled at an average of 17.91 and an economy of 5.97. SRH’s repeated batting failure means that Rashid has got to work hard with the bat too.
Weaknesses: Batting hasn’t come together this season for SRH. Opener David Warner continues to flop. The likes of Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav have also struggled. Repeated batting failure has put immense pressure on Kane Williamson, which in turn has affected his game too. Batting needs to be addressed immediately if SRH hope to salvage some pride from the remainder of their season.
Opportunities: With the chance to qualify for the playoffs over, SRH captain Kane Williamson could give the players from the bench a few matches to perform.
Threats: The way SRH are playing at the moment, there is a very real chance that the team might lose its remainder of matches too and finish the season with only one win. Just one win from all of the league stage matches would be a very disappointing return for any IPL team.
SWOT for RR
Strengths: RR bowlers have punched above their weight in the absence of Jofra Archer. All-rounder Chris Morris has led the pace attack with 14 scalps. Mustafizur Rahman and Chetan Sakariya have picked 10 wickets each. Kartik Tyagi bowled a sensational last over against PBKS to pull a win from the jaws of defeat. Experienced pacer Jaydev Unadkat is yet to bowl in the UAE leg of the season. Sanju Samson will be relying on the pacers to deliver a win in the match.
Weaknesses: Batting has led RR down this season. Sanju Samson is the team’s leading run-scorer with 351 runs. The second-highest run-scorer for the team in the 2021 season, Jos Buttler, is not available for this leg. All other batters have failed to cross 200-run make for this season. If RR need to extend their run this season, then the batters will have to come good in the remaining matches.
Opportunities: If RR win this match, then it could jump to the fifth spot on the points table which will mean that their chances of a playoff spot will still be alive.
Threats: RR find itself in a situation where any more loss will close the doors of a playoff spot for them.
Head-to-head
Matches played: 14
SRH wins: 7
RR wins: 7
What happened in the reverse fixture earlier in the season?
Batting first RR posted a huge total of 220/3 thanks to superb 124 from 64 deliveries by opener Jos Buttler. After Buttler’s batting exploits, bowlers added to SRH’s woes. Pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Chris Morris picked 3 wickets each as SRH were stopped on 165/8 in 20 overs. RR thus won the match by 55 runs.
Form Guide
SRH: L-L-L-L-L
RR: L-W-W-L-W
Pitch and conditions
For the match between KKR and CSK, the pitch was dry and it got slower as the game progressed. It remains to be seen if the same deck or a new one is used for this match.
A clear and warm evening is expected for the match. The temperature would be around 33° C with humidity level around 55%.
Team News
Ewin Lewis missed RR’s previous match owing to an injury. The seriousness of the injury is not known. Other players are match fit and are available for selection. Pacer T Natrajan and all-rounder Vijay Shankar continue to remain on the sidelines for SRH. While Natrajan tested positive for cOVID-19, Shankar had to be isolated from the team as he was identified as a close contact of Natrajan.
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI
Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Impact player for SRH
Jason Holder: Jason Holder has been in good all-round form this season. Against PBKS, Holder picked 3 wickets and scored an unbeaten 47. For his performance against PBKS, Holder became a rare player to win the Player of the Match award from the losing side. Holder has been a consistent performer for SRH, since he was brought in the team last season.
Impact player for RR
Sanju Samson: RR captain Sanju Samson is his team’s leading run-scorer for 2021 with 351 runs. In the process, Samson has hit a hundred and a fifty, although the two innings have come in a losing cause. But with other batters failing, the spotlight will be on Samson to play a match-winning knock for RR.