Preview
Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad meet in a mid-table tussle on Thursday and the stakes are high for thm with Kolkata Knight Riders having surrendered to a massive loss, opening up the table further. The presence of Jofra Archer with Kartik Tyagi shining through alongside him make Rajasthan’s bowling a potent threat. Their leg-spinners have also delivered of late.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting, though, is a concern with David Warner and Jonny Bairstow not exactly doing the power game upfront. Kane Williamson has stepped up admirably. Priyam Garg and Manish Pandey have also chipped in here and there.
With the ball, SRH will once again bank on Rashid Khan for impact. The leg-spinner has a terrific record in the middle overs and will be tasked with tying down Jos Buttler and Steven Smith.
Team news and predicted XI
Rajasthan Royals will likely look to make use of the same line-up that played last game. They might look to bring in a replacement for Ankit Rajpoot in Akash Singh. Mayank Markande’s spin is also an enticing option for them.
SRH, on the other hand, are likely to bring in Virat Singh or Mohammad Nabi to boost the middle-order. This could mean one of Jonny Bairstow or Kane Williamson sitting this one out. Vijay Shankar or Priyam Garg might also make way for Virat.
Predicted XI
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Rajasthan Royals
Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith (C), Jos Buttler (wk), Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer Akash Singh/Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi
Fantasy tips
- Jos Buttler has looked in good touch in the middle-order but has a glaring record vs Rashid Khan and is definitely a risky pick as captain.
- The surfaces have become slower, so banking on guys like Rashid Khan and Shreyas Gopal or Rahul Tewatia is recommended.
- David Warner, Archer, Kane Williamson, Tyagi and Smith are must picks for this game.
- Warner can still making enough runs to give your fantasy team a decent total but you might not want to captain him.
- Ben Stokes is as dangerous as anybody on any wicket, but hasn’t really clicked and can be avoided.
Fantasy XI
Jonny Bairstow
Jos Buttler
Steven Smith
David Warner
Priyam Garg
Robin Uthappa
Rahul Tewatia
Vijay Shankar
Jofra Archer
Rashid Khan
Kartik Tyagi
