IPL 2019: Rajasthan Royals predicted XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rajasthan Royals have a stacked batting line up and they will hope for improvement over their opening display in their second match against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rajasthan Royals began their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 campaign with a 14-run defeat at the hands of Kings XI Punjab in their tournament opener on 25 March.

Jos Buttler’s controversial dismissal against KXIP glossed over RR’s inexplicable batting collapse. (AFP)

The game was overshadowed by the controversial “Mankading” of the Royals’ star batsman Jos Buttler, but it glossed over RR’s inexplicable batting collapse following the Englishman’s dismissal. The Rajasthan outfit went from 108/1 to 170/9 and fell well short of the 185-run target.

The 2008 IPL champions have a stacked batting line up and they will hope for a better performance in their second match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The game will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Here’s the predicted Rajasthan Royals playing XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Ajinkya Rahane

The Rajasthan Royals skipper promoted himself as an opener against Kings XI Punjab and played well for his 20-ball 27 in a 78-run first wicket partnership. The success in the opener may just see Rahane facing the first ball against SRH as well.

Jos Buttler

Buttler was at his fiery best against KXIP and threatened to finish the match at a canter before his hugely controversial dismissal. The Englishman is in very good nick and will be the most dangerous batsman in the Royals line up.

Sanju Samson

Samson batted well for his 25-ball 30 against KXIP. However, his strike rate of 120 when Royals needed to score at a much faster clip didn’t help their cause all that much. Royals will hope for improvement from the 24-year-old.

Steve Smith

The Australia international returned to the IPL after missing out last year following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. He batted well for his 16-ball 20 on return and may well have guided his team to victory if not for an outstanding catch by KL Rahul.

Ben Stokes

Stokes began his IPL 2019 campaign with a six but went out on the very next delivery to leave Royals in a lurch. He was also very expensive with the ball, conceding 48 runs from his four overs for two wickets. RR will hope for an all-round improvement from the England ace.

Rahul Tripathi

Tripathi failed to rescue Royals from the tricky quagmire they were caught in when he walked in to bat in their opening game. His IPL career strike rate of 141.09 shows how destructive he can be.

Krishnappa Gowtham

Gowtham was a tad expensive with the ball, giving away 32 runs from his four balls and took a solitary wicket. With the bat also he couldn’t take the Royals past the finishing line against KXIP. The Rajasthan outfit will hope for a better outing from Gowtham in Hyderabad.

Jofra Archer

Archer is one of the best bowlers in the shortest format of the game and he showed why with his return of 4-017-0 against the Punjab outfit. He is likely to don the England jersey despite having represented West Indies Under-19s earlier in his career, and the English set up will be better for his inclusion.

Jaydev Unadkat

Unadkat went for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore at last year’s auction and the paceman fell woefully short of justifying the humongous fee that Royals shelled out for him as he was carted around for 44 runs from just three overs. He will have to come up with the goods on Friday.

Shreyas Gopal

Gopal got just one over and gave away only five runs in the Royals’ opening game. He will be keen to have a better outing in Hyderabad.

Dhawal Kulkarni

Kulkarni returned respectable figures of 4-0-30-0 spearheading the Royals attack against KXIP. But the Rajasthan outfit’s expectation of an improved performance from the vastly experienced bowler wouldn’t be amiss.