What

The Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad began their Pepsi IPL 2014 campaign with a contest against each other. They will take each other on yet again – this time in Match 30 of the season.

Rajasthan Royals occupy the third position in the league standings with five wins from seven matches. The team won only one match from their first three, but has since regained momentum, winning four on the trot. In their most recent match, against the Kolkata Knight Riders, RR held their nerves to edge out their opponents and register a 10-run win.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have two wins from six matches. Three days ago, in their previous match at Bengaluru, they were very much in the contest until the 19th over of RCB’s run-chase. But AB de Villiers’ stunning assault on Dale Steyn decisively swung the match in favour of RCB.

When

Thursday, May 8, 2014, 8 pm IST

Where

Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

The Protagonists

The youngsters of Rajasthan Royals have performed so admirably that they have stolen the limelight from their biggest match-winner – captain Shane Watson. After scoring a quick-fire 31, the Australian all-rounder struck telling blows with the ball to derail KKR’s run-chase.

On the bowling front, how good has the 42-year-old Pravin Tambe been? The leg-spinner, who bagged a hat-trick in the previous match, has picked up some important scalps. He will be expected to come good yet again, especially because the conditions at Ahmedabad are expected to suit spinners. Unlike many bowlers who believe taking wickets is a means of keeping the pressure on the opposition, Tambe believes the best way to success in the T20 format is to keep the runs down and mount the pressure, and hence forcing the opposition to take undue risks.

The common element in the Sunrisers’ two wins so far this season has been their batsmen setting up the match with runs on the board, after which the bowlers restrict their opponents. Hence, the likes of Aaron Finch and David Warner play crucial roles in the SRH scheme of things. Captain Shikhar Dhawan too had a good hit in the previous match, and it is therefore crucial that their top three bat for the majority of the innings and score the bulk of the team’s runs. Warner has shown the inclination to build an innings before pulling out the powerful strokes from his repertoire at the back-end of the innings; that strategy has worked well for him in the last couple of matches and he will be expected to do the same again.

Notes from previous match

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders: The biggest lesson from Rajasthan Royals’ previous match was “Never give up”. KKR were cruising in their chase of 171, before two sensational overs – the first one by skipper Shane Watson and the next one by Pravin Tambe – knocked the wind out of KKR’s sails. From 121 for no loss, KKR slumped to 123 for six and RR walked away with the match comfortably. The other positive from the match was the bowling rhythm of Watson who has been a reluctant bowler – for totally understandable reasons – in the recent past.

Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore: SRH will be concerned that their best bowler – Dale Steyn – was taken to the cleaners by AB de Villiers. One other area of improvement is the performance of the batsmen in the middle overs; between overs seven and 15, the SRH innings had 20 dot balls and the team only added 59 runs to their score. Among the positives is the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Karn Sharma, who conceded only 33 runs in eight overs together and returned with a combined haul of five wickets.

Previous Meetings

The Rajasthan Royals have won three of their four matches against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Incidentally, all three of the Rajasthan Royals’ wins have been in run-chases.

Trivia

In their seven innings so far this season, Rajasthan Royals have had five different players who have been innings top-scorers.

Rajasthan Royals have an impressive record in run-chases. They’ve won 33 of their 51 run-chases in the IPL.

What Next

The Rajasthan Royals head to Bengaluru for their contest against the Royal Challengers Bangalore scheduled for May 11. Sunrisers Hyderabad will be seen in the nation’s capital for their contest against the Delhi Daredevils on May 10.