DUBAI: The inexperienced young guns of both Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad would like to put their hands up in testing times when both teams square off in a must-win Indian Premier League game on Thursday.
Whether it is Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad of Sunrisers or Kartik Tyagi, Riyan Parag of the Royals, the youngsters from both sides will be feeling the pressure of doing something out of the box in case their illustrious seniors fail in that pursuit.
The Sunrisers are currently tottering at the second last place in the eight-team table with just six points from nine game while Royals are a notch ahead with eight points after their comprehensive win over Chennai Super Kings in the previous game.
While SRH can’t afford to slip up even one bit with five games remaining, RR would be hoping to continue the winning momentum and hope that their foreign recruits continue in good nick like the CSK game. With IPL reaching its business end, the road ahead is definitely going to be a tough and tricky one for both the teams, and they very well know that they cannot afford any more lapses from hereon.
Rajasthan Royals got their campaign back on track after two heavy defeats and would also have the edge over SRH, which lost to KKR in the Super Over in their previous game.
Losing Super Over contests often push teams back as KXIP found out after their opening loss to Delhi Capitals.
While Jofra Archer continues to be the backbone of Royals’ bowling attack, the wrist-spinning duo of Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia were terrific in the middle overs against CSK and skipper Smith would be hoping for an encore from his bowlers on Thursday.
In batting, Jos Buttler looked in ominous form the other night, forcing Smith to play the second fiddle but RR would need more consistent partnerships upfront.
All-rounder Ben Stokes is yet to fire and Robin Uthappa had been their weakest link so far, which just might prompt Smith to give a go to someone like Punjab dasher Manan Vohra. The other aspect that hurt them is Sanju Samson’s form which like every other year has gone from good to bad and now worse.
—PTI

Press Trust of India