SRH vs RR: Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, Stats, Pitch Report and more for Dream11 IPL, Match 26

Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to pocket two points against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

Published - 10 Oct 2020, 16:50 IST | Updated - 10 Oct 2020, 16:50 IST

View : 1.6K

2 Min Read

The 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is nearing towards the half-way mark, and every encounter from hereon will decide and impact the future of the teams involved. With an equal number of victories and defeats in six league matches, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have been witnessing a roller-coaster ride. Keeping the results aside, six games into the tournament, the Orange Army has found itself tackling a host of injuries to crucial players, and whether willingly or not, they have relied heavily on a young and inexperienced middle-order.

After an injured Kane Williamson recovered to find himself inside the eleven, the exclusion of Bhuveshwar Kumar – SRH’s pace frontier – from the whole tournament due to a thigh injury, came to the fore to deteriorate an already imbalanced playing setup. The top-heavy Hyderabad would be satiated after David Warner and Jonny Bairstow- who missed out a deserving century by an agonising margin of 3 runs, were able to strike in tandem in the last encounter against the hapless Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

However, a similar story unfolded once the two ballistic openers departed. The middle-order including Abdul Samad, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, and Abhishek Sharma collectively added merely 21 runs in 16 balls, and SRH that was easily eyeing 230-240 runs, was reduced to 201 for 6. The wily spin web of Rashid Khan alongside some impressive performance from T Natarajan and Khaleel Ahmed, who both bagged a couple of wickets each, restricted KXIP 69 runs short, although the over-reliance of the team on openers was manifestly visible once again.

For the Rajasthan Royals, their performance has started to become an enigma ever since they won the first two games at Sharjah. Even returning to their lucky venue did not bode well for them and they are coming into this clash after a convincing defeat of 46 runs against the mighty Delhi Capitals (DC). Considering the venue, the bowlers for RR did well to restrict a powerful batting side to 184, but coming out to chase, the list of problems for the team proved to be long and lengthy.

A couple of reasonable knocks from Steve Smith and Rahul Tewatia aside, the entire batting line-up crumbled under pressure and the Royals, who never looked to be in the game, went onto script their fourth consecutive defeat. They have been on a downward spiral after winning the first two games, and running out of breath, they will be desperate to pocket two points against SRH on Sunday, at the Dubai International Stadium.

Pitch and conditions

This being a day game, both the teams must be aware of the Dubai-heat taking a toll on the body. The strip at this venue has witnessed some high scoring games of late, and the batsmen have been able to score runs freely despite the assistance to the bowlers. Although, for the record, the teams batting first have won almost all the games (7 out of 9), whereas the remaining two encounters have gone into the Super Over.

Playing combination for SRH vs RR

Sunrisers Hyderabad Probable 11

The over-reliance of SRH on the top-order has hurt them a tad bit in this edition, although both Warner and Bairstow striking well together will give the team a huge sigh of relief. The addition of Kane Williamson at No. 4 has added immense value to the team, but the inexperienced middle-order has often been left exposed if the top-three falter.

Rashid Khan was at his lethal best in the last encounter as he flummoxed the opponents through a flurry of googlies and deservedly bagged a three-for, that included a double-wicket maiden. Youngster Abdul Samad was taken to a task as he gave away 28 in an over, however, his young counterpart T Natarajan ended up with 2 wickets at a decent economy. Pacers Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma will pick themselves alongside Natarajan.

Probable 11- David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma

Rajasthan Royals Probable 11

Jos Buttler was entrapped by his old mate Ravi Ashwin cheaply in the previous game, and he will be itching to go big this time around. The form of Sanju Samson has disappeared mysteriously after two big knocks, and a series of low scores have followed. Youngster Yashavi Jaiswal looked highly uncomfortable in his struggling knock in the last game, whereas Steve Smith, who has lost his touch after the initial games, was not able to do much with the bat either.

Ben Stokes, who missed the initial leg of the tournament on account of family reasons, will be available for selection as his quarantine schedule has concluded. His addition will bolster the both batting and the bowling department of the team. Jofra Archer will lead the pace attack alongside Varun Aaron and Kartik Tyagi.

Probable 11- Jos Buttler (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith (C), Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi