New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals (RR) will take on SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the first match of a Sunday doubleheader at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Both RR and SRH haven’t had great tournament so far. The Sanju Samson-led RR side have displayed glimpses of skill, however, they have struggled in terms of their constancy. After having played six matches in the IPL 2021 of the cash-rich league so far, the inaugural champions have been able to cross the line only in two battles and have just four points to their name. SRH on the other hand have only won a single match in IPL 2021. They need to come up with a better-quality performance in their upcoming clash to keep their hopes alive in the T20 competition.
RR have a lot of issues to focus, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone and Ben Stokes. Their batting depends heavily on skipper Sanju Samson but the inconsistent skipper has not fired since the 119 in the opening match with 42 being the highest after that.
Though Jos Buttler looks subtle in the opening but is yet to score a half century in six matches. The middle-order is struggling with Proteas’ David Miller having scored just one half ton in five games while Riyan Parag is out-of-form. Shivam Dube seems decent but is failing to score big.
In the bowling department, million-dollar player Chris Morris is fabulous so far with 11 wickets from six matches but he cannot single-handedly carry the team on his shoulders as his colleagues are failing. All-rounder Rahul Tewatia is doing nothing with just one wickets from six matches and neither his batting is making any noise. Senior pacer Jaydev Unadkat has four wickets to show in as many games while Bangladesh left-arm Mustafizur Rahman has grabbed five from six matches. Young Chetan Sakariya has been Royals' main man with seven wickets from six matches. Rassie van der Dussen has joined RR.
Talking about Hyderabad, while some were happy some felt it was a harsh decision that SunRisers Hyderabad removed David Warner as their captain for the remainder of the season, with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson taking his place.
SRH is heavily dependent on the top-four of David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson and that is the problem as they do not have a much force in the middle order. Bairstow and Warner has two half centuries but are yet to score a big one. Kane Williamson has played in just three matches with 66 not out as his highest.
In the bowling lineup, Afghan spinner Rashid Khan has a big responsibility and he has been doing a decent job, with nine wickets. Rashid is not receiving any support from other players. As senior India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a thigh strain against Punjab Kings he is out of the squad. Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma will look to scalp as many as in their kitty on Sunday.
With both teams in desperate need a win of a win, cricket fans may witness a visual treat on Sunday.
PROBABLE XI
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Mustafizur Rahman and Chetan Sakariya
SunRisers Hyderabad: David Warner/Wriddhiman Saha, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (C), Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Rashid Khan, Jagadeesha Suchith/ Jason Holder, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed and Sandeep Sharma
