IPL 2021: Match 40, SRH vs RR Preview, Playing XI, Live Streaming Details & Updates

Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rajasthan Royals. IPL 2021. There is a sense of lack of words when these three things are said at one go. It isn’t too much either of these two teams have, at this moment, which is exciting. It is like Everton taking on Sunderland in February in a Premier League match. Everyone knows neither of these two teams can win the league, but wouldn’t mind watching them on a Monday night. 

Let’s start with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Nine games. Eight losses and one win. That win looks so distant and since then David Warner has been sacked from captaincy, dropped from the team, returned for a second leg, regained his place in the side, and now once again finds himself at the threat of losing his place in the team. 

After a disappointing leg in India, UAE was supposed to prove a better time, but that hasn’t happened. All fingers should be pointed at the middle order of Sunrisers Hyderabad. It has not stepped up. What is interesting and frustrating as a Sunrisers fan is the fact that the middle order hasn’t stepped up since 2014. 

The heavy dependence on overseas top-order players makes you fall in deeper trouble, the season of 2021 for SRH is a template that all IPL teams should be wary of. There isn’t a lot to party at this point, and this is not going to be one of those seasons where Hyderabad will just do enough to get into the top four. 

Speaking of doing enough to get to the top four, Rajasthan Royals haven’t done that in years. The last time they made it to the top four was when Ajinkya Rahane was still a legit T20 player. Rajasthan’s squad isn’t too bad, but it doesn’t help when three of the top four overseas players don’t show up and you are left with a bunch of replacements you don’t know how to use. 

There is enough quality in this unit, but at the same time, the combinations don’t quite work. The Royals know who their top seven Indian players are, but how to manage them is something that needs a little more work. Royals are at a stage where even Kumar Sangakkara knows they don’t have the good enough side and with a mega-auction looming on top, no one should blame them if they have already started planning for the next season. 

Sanju Samson’s captaincy has been impressive at times, but there aren’t too many star powers or senior players talking in his ears. Cricket has always been a game where 11 players have to contribute to make a team win, but in the case of the Royals, there is a clear correlation between the fact that they don’t have a good team and that not everyone is contributing. In the last game, chasing 155, the Royals failed miserably. Samson made 70. Rajasthan made 121. Mahipal Lomror made 19 and no one else could even get beyond 10. 

When you are talking about not stepping up to the task, there is no way you can leave out talking about Sunrisers and its pathetic middle order. It is an unbelievable feat if a team runs into a bad form from 1 to 7. The fact that Jason Holder has so far been their best batter is worrying. 

As these two teams meet, only one has a chance to qualify. Rajasthan has won four out of nine despite all the issues, one against SRH. That was a clinical performance for them, back in the first leg. Coming into that game SRH had changed and was still something to play for. Now, they are reduced to just playing for pride. Rajasthan will consider themselves lucky if they make it to the playoffs, and a win over Hyderabad is essential they were to make it a reality. 

Pitch and conditions

The wicket in Dubai is slowing down as the tournament is moving along. Spinners will come to the party which should make Hyderabad a little hopeful. In the last match played here, Hyderabad managed only 134 runs and Delhi batted patiently on that slow deck to get to a win. Having said that, expect a score around 150 to be good enough on this track. Dew could play a role that keeps the team batting second in a sort of advantageous situation. 

Playing combination for SRH vs RR

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

The only change Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking for is a change in mindset and form. There isn’t a player on the bench who will automatically make this team look good. Hence, a change isn’t something they might do. But, considering how they have rotated their team through the season, they might try out a couple of players, now they have been ruled out. 

Predicted XI: David Warner/Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Rajasthan Royals

In the previous game, they rested Evin Lewis and Chris Morris due to niggles, if they are fit, they could be back. But then, RR will have to change their whole overseas combination. These are the fine margins where Royals have put themselves in severe scrutiny for whoever they pick and drop. You can’t really pick between David Miller and Evin Lewis, as both are gun T20 batters. On top of that, they have Glenn Phillips in the sheds as well. 

Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, David Miller, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Tabraiz Shamsi

SRH vs RR Head-to-Head

Overall

Played – 14 | Sunrisers Hyderabad – 7 | Rajasthan Royals – 7 |N/R – 0

SRH vs RR Broadcast Details

Match Timings – 7:30 PM IST

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar