SRH vs RR: Shakib set to start off IPL journey
The Indian Premier League is set to witness the two former champions—Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals locking horns on Monday at Hyderabad. Both would be looking to kick-start their journeys with a win. The men led by Kane Williamson will do everything to clinch a victory over the visitors and Ajinkya Rahane and his band will also leave no stones unturned to gain a positive outcome.
Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has been drafted in by Sunrisers Hyderabad this year, will play his first match for his new team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad don’t have the destructive batsman David Warner in the squad due to the ban handed to him following the sandpaper-gate. Both teams of this clash have one player each who have been suspended because of the incident and ironically both were supposed to captain their respective sides.
SRH have a great bowling attack with spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar. And spinners like Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan will give them a great advantage in bowling.
Shakib can also contribute with the bat along with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Alex Hales and SRH’s skipper Kane Williamson.
Predicted XI: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals broke the bank to rope in players like Ben Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat, and Jofra Archer. They have a great bunch of foreign players who are capable of dominating in any situation in a T20 game.
Although they don’t have Steve Smith in their side, his compatriot D’Arcy Short, the leading run-getter in BBL ‘17-18, will give them an advantage in the batting line-up which also consists the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, and Sanju Samson.
RR have a good bowling attack with quicks like Archer, Unadkat and Kulkarni in the line-up. Archer was one of the leading wicket taker in BBL last season and will look to make is mark in this tournament as well. Stokes can offer some overs too. Shreyas Gopal and Krishnappa Gowtham can team up in the middle overs and bag some wickets.
Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), D'Arcy Short, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni
Prediction
The Hyderabad-based franchise have the backing of the statistics as they have successfully defended all scores exceeding 150 runs in the last three editions of the league. So the equation is simple; if Rajasthan Royals bowl first, they will have to prevent the hosts from getting past 150.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will surely have the upper hand as they will be playing in their home conditions. The Royals, on the other hand, will also look forward to making a remarkable comeback in the league after two long years of exile.
