IPL 10, Match 44, SRH v RPS Preview: Off track Sunrisers Hyderabad up against spirited Supergiant

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have found themselves stuck on 13 points for quite some time now. They are seeing other teams jump past them in the last few games. They are two wins away from qualifying for the playoffs and have 3 games at their disposal. Their next assignment is against the Rising Pune Supergiant, who are currently placed at number 3 in the points a table. A win for RPS would almost guarantee them a place in the playoffs.

Amidst this scenario, the two teams will lock horns at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Both teams would go out all guns blazing to inch closer to the playoffs. The keynote to be seen here is the venue of Hyderabad. The Sunrisers have maintained a perfect record at the venue thus far. They have won all the 5 matches that they have played in this season at this venue. They would want to continue their winning streak.

Having said that, one cannot undermine the dark horses RPS. Earlier in the season, they had broken the unbeaten 6 match winning streak of Mumbai Indians. Hence, it will only be unfair to rule them out based on this statistic. The last time these two sides had met in Pune, the Supergiant had thumped SRH by 6 wickets. It was a blitzkrieg knock from MS Dhoni that had helped RPS topple the defending champions.

Toss: SRH won the toss & elected to bowl first

Playing XI:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha(w), Rashid Khan, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Ashish Nehra

Rising Pune Supergiant: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith(c), Manoj Tiwary, MS Dhoni(w), Ben Stokes, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

David Warner: We are going to bowl first. We aren’t sure about the weather, we aren’t pretty sure about the wicket either. It always makes more sense to chase in a day game. Bipul Sharma in for Hooda and Nehra comes back in for Siraj. We have a job to do, need to win day in and day out and are hoping that everyone does their job assigned.

Steve Smith: No changes for us. Going in with the same side. I think we are in the top four at the moment and have had a good run in the last six-seven games. We’re going pretty well.

Focus will be on

MS Dhoni

Former RPS skipper MS Dhoni has made it a habit to be in the news in the recent times. No matter which team he turns up for, he is the player to watch out for. Dhoni had blown away the SRH camp with a thunderous fifty the last time these two teams had met. However, his form since then has not been that great. He has failed to hit his straps right and has batted with a strike rate lower than the usual. With the gloves, he remains to be the best in the business.

Yuvraj Singh

Veteran Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh had started off the season on a high. However, as the tournament progressed, he saw his form dip. He was under the firing range of the pundits for underperforming in the middle half of the season. Yuvraj got back to form in the previous game though. He smashed a brilliant 70 against the Delhi Daredevils to help his side post a total in excess of 180. Yuvi needs to prove that his knock was not a one match wonder.

Rahul Tripathi

RPS opener Rahul Tripathi took the cricket world by storm when he hammered a match-winning 93 against the Kolkata Knight Riders a couple of nights ago. Tripathi, in this season, has had a string of 30 plus scores that speaks volumes about his consistency. Given the kind of form he has been in, a lot of eyes will be glued to him. He silenced all critics who believed he is incapable of converting starts to big scores. Rahul Tripathi needs to back up the big score with another big one now.

Team Combinations:

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have been rocked in a previous couple of matches. However, they will continue to board the same squad that featured in the last game. At best, they can rope in the services of Mohammad Nabi at the expense of Moises Henriques. The opening looks set with David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan calling the shots in the tournament. Kane Williamson, in at number 3, has been a prolific run-getter too. Yuvraj Singh seemed to be out of form but got back to his sublime best in the previous game.

Deepak Hooda and Naman Ojha have found themselves in a position from where they have not been given too many opportunities with the bat. This has largely been as a result of the top order playing ominously well. In the bowling lineup, they are in the safe hands of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is assisted by Mohammad Siraj and Siddharth Kaul. Rashid Khan continues to be the solitary spinner in the lineup.

Rising Pune Supergiant

The Rising Pune Supergiant have been doing a fantastic job with a settled lineup at their disposal. It is unlikely that they will tinker with their winning combination against the defending champions. Rahul Tripathi and Ajinkya Rahane are a good pair in the top order. Steve Smith, despite having no big scores in the recent games, has continued to get starts. Manoj Tiwary being promoted at number 4 is a handy deal for the RPS lineup.

MS Dhoni and Ben Stokes have proven to be the ideal match finishers for the camp this season. The addition of Dan Christian has only strengthened the squad a little more. Washington Sundar is yet to get his due chances with the bat but has been phenomenal with the ball in the powerplays. He has played the role of the second spinner in the lineup after Imran Tahir being the leading spinner. Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat have been contributing as the wicket taking options in the season thus far.

Stat Attack

3 – Number of times both the teams have faced each other. RPS have won on 2 occasions and SRH has won only once.

5 – Number of matches played at Hyderabad this season. SRH have won all five of them.

11 – Number of runs needed by David Warner to complete 500 runs in IPL 10.

48 – Number of needed by Rahul Tripathi to complete 400 runs this season.

110 – Batting strike rate of MS Dhoni in IPL 2017. This is well below his career strike rate that is over 135.