Dubai will play host for match number 26 of the Indian T20 League between Team Hyderabad and Team Rajasthan (SRH vs RR). SRH seems to be well on course for recovery after getting a much-need victory against KXIP at the same venue. RR after starting the tournament on a promising note seems to be rolling back on the points table with every matchday.
Ben Stokes’ arrival will be a major boost for Rajasthan as they’d be hoping that the Brit can stop it from becoming five defeats in a row. Hyderabad seem to be on the right track now having figured out their perfect combination and their openers are finally firing together which will be a major headache for any opposition bowling line-up. In the last five SRH vs RR matches, Hyderabad have dominated the one-time champion, Rajasthan having won four out of five matches.
KEY BATTLES
Jonny Bairstow vs Jos Butler
The battle of two fine English glovemen. They both have exemplary skills behind the wicket but when it comes to their batting, they are as lethal as any opening batsmen could get in this format. Both have started to find some form leading into this match and it could be the most interesting player battle in SRH vs RR.
Jonny Bairstow almost scored the third century of the tournament with a brilliant knock of 97 against KXIP in SRH’s last game. He absolutely hammered the Punjab bowlers and spared nobody. He’ll look to continue doing the same given that the match is at the same venue.
Jos Butler has had a hot and cold form in this tournament so far but now his team needs him desperately to score some consistent runs. Knowing Butler he wouldn’t be that happy with the way he has gotten out in a few of his previous matches and will look to capitalise in this match.
PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Kane Williamson
It’s been surprising to see Kane Williamson batting at number four and not at his usual position at number three. Some pundits have called him to bat higher up the order and the theory behind having the Kiwi at number four would be the solidity he gets in that weakish Hyderabad middle-order. Still, we believe Kane should bat at three and then we could see the best of him in this tournament.
Jofra Archer
He along with Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Jasprit Bumrah has been the best bowlers of the tournament so far. His raw pace and a mean bouncer is too hot to handle for any batsmen in the competition. He has by far been the fastest bowler of the tournament and is in red hot form with the bat as well.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
SRH: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma
RR: Yashaswi Jaiswal, Jos Butler (WK), Steven Smith (C), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Aaron
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