The Rajasthan Royals will be deeply affected ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad as Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
All-rounder Archer propelled Royals to a thrilling victory over KKR on Thursday night and his presence too will be felt very much.The departure of three Englishmen could cost Royals dear but the form of Ajinkya Rahane and Smith is a positive sign.The real find for Royals has been 17-year-old boy from Assam, Riyan Parag, who has shown remarkable skill with bat and ball, demonstrating tremendous temperament. He made 47 off 31 against KKR and put back Rajasthan Royals on road to victory from a very tight situation. Sanju Samson is also in good nick and Rahul Tripathi too has clicked with a fifty in the opening slot.
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The bowling will be a bigger worry for the hosts because Archer was the most effective bowler for them in death overs. However, Varun Aaron was very impressive against KKR with 2 for 20 and the ‘Man of the match’ award would also boost his confidence.Oshane Thomas too had a decent outing with 1 for 32. The hosts would also look up to Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat to tighten the screws on the opposition.
{{/usCountry}}The bowling will be a bigger worry for the hosts because Archer was the most effective bowler for them in death overs. However, Varun Aaron was very impressive against KKR with 2 for 20 and the ‘Man of the match’ award would also boost his confidence.Oshane Thomas too had a decent outing with 1 for 32. The hosts would also look up to Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat to tighten the screws on the opposition.
{{/usCountry}}The Rajasthan Royals have a big selection headache ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Liam Livingstone, isn’t a like-for-like replacement for Ben Stokes as far as the bowling department is concerned, but he could replace the Englishman, and play Stokes’ role of finishing off the innings. Livingstone can chip in with a few overs of leg spin as well.
Dhawal Kulkarni could take Jofra Archer’s place as the fast bowler in the side. Kulkarni has huge shoes to fill and the Rajasthan management will hope that the extra responsibility on Kulkarni’s shoulders will help him perform better.
Predicted XI of RR against SRH: Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Steven Smith (c), Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson (wk), Shreyas Gopal, Oshane Thomas, Dhawal Kulkarni, Riyan Parag
(With agency inputs)