Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to put their woeful form behind them and score a win when the two teams lock horns in match 28 of IPL 2021 at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi. Here is the analysis of the two teams.
SWOT for RR
Strengths: The fast-bowling pair of Chetan Sakariya and Chriss Morris is the only glimmer of hope in a team desperate for wins. Morris has picked 11 wickets and Sakariya has 7 wickets to his name. Morris has a bowling average of 17.72 and Sakariya is averaging 26.28. Apart from bowling, Morris can double up as a batter while Sakariya has shown that he is a good fielder.
Weaknesses: The RR batters have been a big disappointment. Except for Sanju Samson’s hundred and David Miller’s fifty, there has not been any other significant or noticeable performance with the willow. Batting superstar Jos Buttler has struggled so far. The likes of Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, and Rahul Tewatia, the three batsmen who make RR’s middle-order have combined to score only 283 runs. Also, there is a lack of clarity in the specific role that the batters need to perform.
Opportunities: After being on the sidelines for the first four matches, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been given the opportunity to open the innings alongside Jos Buttler. The left-handed batter has played two short knocks of 22 off 17 and 32 off 20 balls. The two innings have highlighted that Jaiswal could be a good opener. Now is the chance for him to get a big score for his team, help them win the match, and also establish himself as a regular opener for RR.
Threats: RR have not enjoyed a good campaign this season and now find themselves in a situation where every loss could hurt them and decrease their chances of securing a playoff spot. With key players absent, depleted overseas resources, and a skipper with flickering form, there is a real threat that RR may yet again miss the chance to feature in the playoffs.
SWOT for SRH
Strengths: The batters are getting runs and the team should derive some inspiration from the batters. Albeit slow, but David Warner and Manish Pandey registered fifties in the previous match. The class and the potential of Kane Williamson is well known, but he needs to bat higher up. Jonny Bairstow has already hit two fifties. Between these four batsmen, SRH have seven fifties. If three of these four batters enjoy a good day, then the possibility of SRH winning the match would increase manifolds.
Weaknesses: With team desperate for wins, skipper David Warner in a panic mode is making too many changes in the team that he is fielding for almost every match. As many as 21 different players have now played at least one match for SRH this season. The frequent changes in the line-up are creating uncertainty amongst players and what specific roles they need to perform. Warner could learn a few tricks from MS Dhoni, who tends to back players even if they are going through lean phase.
Opportunities: With Kane Williamson at helm, the team could be refreshed. David Warner would be relieved of the burden of captaincy. A change of captaincy could also mean a change of fortunes for the team. It is also the perfect time for Williamson to establish himself as the skipper of SRH for next season.
Threats: Unfortunately, the team find itself in a situation where it needs to win every match to have any hope of qualifying for the playoffs. With every loss, the chances of team qualifying for playoff will get slimmer. Looking at the form of the players and a few bizarre tactics that the team has adopted this season, it looks like the team is going to fail to qualify for the playoffs.
Head-to-Head
Matches played: 13
RR: 6
SRH: 7
Form Guide (last five matches)
RR: L-W-L-L-W
SRH: L-L-W-L-L
Team News
On the eve of the match, SRH announced that David Warner has been relieved from his captaincy duties and Kane Williamson has been appointed as the new skipper of the team. SRH’s lead pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s participation remains an uncertainty on account of soreness that he had before the team’s match against DC. Bhuvneshwar has missed two matches since then. At the time of writing, there has been no update on the bowler’s fitness.
South African batter Rassie van der Dussen has joined RR has however not yet completed his quarantine period.
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI
David Warner, Kane Williamson, Sanju Samson(wk), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Chetan Sakariya
Impact player for RR
Chris Morris: Chris Morris yet again remains the team’s most important match-winner. The tall South African all-rounder has picked 11 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 17.72. Even in the team’s loss against MI, Morris was able to pick the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, two key batsmen in MI lineup. Morris is a very handy batter as well.
Impact player for SRH
Kane Williamson: Against CSK, Kane Williamson scored a breezy 26 from just 10 balls to take SRH’s total beyond 170. Experts believe that had Williamson batted higher, he could have contributed more, thus increasing SRH’s chances of winning. Williamson is a world-class batter who has the potential to produce match-winning knocks at a high frequency. However, his skills are being underutilized. Williamson still remains SRH's best match-winner on par with former skipper David Warner.
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