SRH vs RR: Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma vs Trent Boult among the key battles that could decide Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals | Ipl News
SRH’s powerplay vs Boult
The Travishek Express has been halted in the last couple of matches largely due to opener Travis Head’s back-to-back ducks. The swinging white ball from left-arm pacers has rattled Head’s off-stump twice in a row. Against Punjab Kings, Arshdeep Singh and against KKR, it was a Mitchell Starc first-over special. Head got his lines all wrong on both occasions. And waiting to exploit that will be powerplay special Trent Boult. SRH openers have been a revelation, when they have clicked in the powerplay, and their season strike rate in the first six overs is a stunning 11.48 runs per over. Boult, on the other hand, has an Economy Rate of 6.71 in the first six overs, and picked up 9 wickets this season.
RR’s spinners vs Klaasen
Henrich Klaasen hit a couple of jaw-dropping sixes in SRH’s win against PBKS, which were a reminder of why he is so good against spin. Rahul Chahar dropped it slightly short, Klaasen rocked back onto the backfoot and smashed it over midwicket. Harpreet Brar was fuller than that, and Klaasen still picked up length so early to pull it straighter for a massive six. The South African batter has struck at 193.68 against spin this IPL and that’s where RR’s spinners need to step in.
IPL 2024 longest sixes: Heinrich Klaasen smashed a 106m six against RCB. (BCCI)
R Ashwin, after a lackluster start to the IPL, has found his rhythm in time and knows the Chennai pitch better than any of the cricketers who will be in action on Friday. Ashwin’s four overs could be gold dust for RR to keep SRH’s big-hitters quiet. Yuzvendra Chahal has struggled to contain the big hits against him but is still capable of picking up the big wicket on any given night.
Samson vs SRH spinners
When he was stumped off Karn Sharma’s bowling in the Eliminator, Sanju Samson was dismissed for the first time in IPL 2024 a spinner. He has a better strike rate against pace this season (164.42 vs 140.94) but Samson’s ability to manipulate spin in the middle overs will be critical. In Chennai though, he must target whichever spinners SRH pick because that is the most obvious chink in Cummins’ bowling attack. SRH spinners have picked up just 13 wickets this season, at an economy rate of 11.20. Whether they decide to go back to Mayank Markande or stick with Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Samson must put the Ahmedabad dismissal (beaten comfortably the flight and turn) behind him quickly. SRH have largely depended on the cutters from the pacers too and Samson’s ability to clear the fence square on the leg side will be a crucial weapon in RR’s arsenal.
Hetmyer vs SRH’s pace trio
Even on nights when they have conceded plenty of runs, the SRH pacers have invariably found a way to bowl one tight over each at the backend of innings. Remember the high-scoring epic against MI, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Cummins took pace off and extension, took the sting out of Mumbai’s onslaught. Against PBKS in a 200-vs-200 match, Bhuvi, Cummins and T Natarajan went for 6, 6, and 9 runs in overs 17-19. This is where Samson’s side will be hoping the reentry of Shimron Hetmyer gives RR an edge. Rovman Powell and Riyan Parag will be crucial too, but Hetmyer is a match-winner in this phase. RR will be hoping for fireworks from their fit-again left-hander, and he’d be keen to finish the job after missing out on finishing the run-chase in the Eliminator.
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