Considering the nature of the green-topped track at the Mullanpur stadium, where the 200-run mark has been breached thrice in the last four matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals is surely going to be a fierce battle between the two teams’ explosive batting line-ups.
Both teams have attacking batters at the top. If RR have the 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, it is local boy Abhishek Sharma for SRH. Sharma had posted 74 off 28 balls, while Sooryavanshi smashed a 16-ball 43 at this venue earlier this season.
The match will be played on the centre-pitch, which seems to be a batting friendly track. The Sunrisers lost their match here, and despite having a slow start, they found momentum especially after the return of skipper Pat Cummins. Since his joining, the Sunrisers have won five out of seven matches to enter the playoffs, and narrowly missed out on a top-two spot on net run-rate.
On the other hand, the Royals will enter the crucial match hoping to get some good news about the fitness of skipper Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja. While the records favour the Sunrisers, the top-order for the Royals — Sooryavanshi (583 runs), Dhruv Jurel (458) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (397) — has proved that they can turn the tables this time. So far, the Sunrisers have beaten the Royals twice in the league stage.
“We have been in a good position, but this match needs some extra effort. Hopefully, not only the batters, but the bowlers will also strike the chord," said Sunrisers’ assistant coach James Franklin.
He also praised all-rounder Nitish Reddy. “Last year, he probably took a lot of learnings. He has done quite a bit of work on his bowling, he has looked as confident as ever with the bat in the early part of our campaign. In terms of the prep work, in the first couple of games he got some validation on that in terms of getting a couple of little cameo scores and partnerships," added Franklin.
Reddy has chipped in with seven wickets and 264 runs in 13 games. Then there are the likes of Heinrich Klaasen (606 runs), Ishan Kishan (569), Sharma (563) and Travis Head (393), who have put in a lot of effort for the side.
The Royals will need pacer Jofra Archer at his best if they are to restrict Head and Sharma. The Royals are keeping their fingers crossed to see Sooryavanshi’s magic. “He is very professional. It’s not about failing or getting runs, but what he does at practice and how he behaves in the dressing room. How cool he is. I haven’t seen a kid like him behaving like that in the dressing room like that," said Dasun Shanaka. “It’s good to play a few games and make it to the final. After the Mumbai game, we gained a lot of confidence in the dressing room. So, two more games until the final. Hopefully, we will win that and get there."
