Rajasthan Royals are set to lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League. Both these teams will give their best as the winner from this match will go into the Final where they will face the mighty Kolata Knight Riders.
Rajasthan are making their way into the Qualifiers after beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator. They restricted RCB to 173 runs in the first innings and chased that total down in 19 overs to set the game up with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Avesh Khan was smacked all over the park by the Bangalore batsmen in his first spell during the Eliminator. However, he pulled things back in his final two overs taking three wickets and ending his four-over quota with figures of 3-44. Ravichandran Ashwin, who was not having the best of IPL campaigns showed his experience on the big stage as he weaved his magic to get the wickets of Cameron Green and Glen Maxwell.
Prior to the win against RCB, the Royals had not won a single game in the month of May. They lost their way after a stellar start to the IPL. Sanju Samson and his men will now have to topple the SRH team as only they stand in RR’s way to make another run to the Final. However, the job is not going to be easy as SRH is a side known to destroy their opponents. They have a dominant batting lineup spearheaded by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting poses a big challenge for the Royals
The SRH batting lineup has broken many records in this IPL season. They breached the previous record of 263 runs in the first innings, three times in just this season. Head and Sharma have both been a force to be reckoned with at the top. The southpaw duo have surpassed the 100-run mark in the powerplay two times, which is a feat that has never been achieved by any other opening duo in the IPL.
Both of them are extremely aggressive and their intent is always to attack when they get to the crease. This has helped SRH win many games with ease in this campaign. However, Head has had a few problems in the last two games facing left arm pacers. The Australian has been dismissed for a duck in his last two games against the Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively. The irony is that Rajasthan also have a fiery left arm pace bowler in Trent Boult. Whether Head will be able to get over his struggles against left farmers in this game is a question only time will tell, but even if he misfires, SRH is well equipped to trouble the Royals bowling attack.
Battle of the best bowling vs best batting sides
The battle at the Chidambaram is going to be a faceoff against the best bowling vs best batting lineup in this year’s IPL. SRH has proven that they can dislodge any bowling lineup in the world. However, the Royals have a great bowling attack, which has helped them out of some tough situations throughout the season.
Led by Trent Boult in the pace and Yuzvendra Chahal in the spin department, the Royals have conceded runs at an economy rate of just 8.03 RPO. They have an experienced campaigner in Ravi Ashwin, who has been in such situations before, which gives them the added advantage in the battle. The veteran has come to form in the right time as he can certainly keep the SRH batsmen quite with his spin bowling.
Both these sides have done more than enough to warrant a place in the IPL final. However, with just one vacant spot, they will have to lock horns and decide who faces KKR in the final game on Sunday. RR and SRH are evenly matched and that is what makes this fixture and interesting watch for cricket fans.
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