Last season’s runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be locking horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad for the 8th match of the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The irony is that both the teams have lost their respective season openers that too by a narrow margin.
While SRH faced defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata. The game in which for most of the time, SRH were the favorites. However, Rajasthan was defeated by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at home. The game which will be known for the Mankading incident between R Ashwin and Jos Butler.
Considering the opening games of both the teams, Hyderabad can be termed as a more balanced side as compares Rajasthan. There is no doubt regarding the fact that SRH can be a team to beat this season as well. On the other hand, Rajasthan, despite having a good mix of Indian and overseas players who are yet to be tested in this season of IPL, they lack balance in their squad.
ALSO READ: Match 8 (SRH vs RR): 5 Players To Watch-out
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
SRH is boosted by the return of explosive opener David Warner. He scored 85 runs in his comeback game against KKR. However, their star-studded bowling lineup couldn’t defend 182 runs and lost the match. Vijay Shankar’s form is a big plus for Hyderabad and they will try to utilize him in the middle order.
Kane Williamson’s injury is still a sight of concern and SRH will take a decision over his availability before the game. If he will not play, Bairstow will keep his place in the playing XI. Rest of the lineup is expected to be the same for this match.
Probable XI: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (C), Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Rajasthan was marching towards a comfortable victory until they hit into an unusual dismissal by Ravichandran Ashwin. Who Mankaded dangerous looking Jos Buttler at c crucial juncture. This changed the course of the match and Rajasthan crumbled under the pressure of the required run rate and conceded the match to KXIP.
Rajasthan is more likely to stick to the same playing XI in this game unless they opt to drop their most expensive buy of the season. Jaydev Unadkat didn’t enjoy his outing in the middle and conceded 44 runs in just three overs. In such a scenario, Varun Aaron is the most likely replacement of him.
Also Read: Match 8 (SRH vs RR) – Probable Fantasy XI
Probable XI: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Steve Smith, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat/Varun Aaron.
