IPL 2018: Match 28, RR vs SRH: Preview, Prediction and Statistical Analysis

The Journey so far

Rajasthan Royals registered a thrilling win against the Mumbai Indians and will now face the Sunrisers Hyderabad who have gained fair momentum and form after they pulled off two remarkable wins in the last two games by defending low scores of 118 and 132 against the Mumbai Indians and the Kings XI Punjab respectively.

The Royals’ bowling attack has strengthened after the inclusion of Jofra Archer who was lethal with the ball during his IPL debut match. The Rajasthan Royals' IPL journey after having played 6 matches reflects a 50% win-loss record as they currently occupy the 5th position in the points table and are need to win upcoming games in order to secure a spot in the playoffs. SRH, on the other hand, occupy the 2nd rank with 5 wins in 7 matches.

Key Stats

409- Shikhar Dhawan is one of the six players to have scored 400+ runs in IPL against RR. Dhawan scored 409 runs against RR at an average of 34.08 including four fifties.

16.41 – Ajinkya Rahane’s batting average of 16.41 against SRH is his lowest against any opponent in the T20 format. Rahane has scored 198 runs in 12 innings against SRH with three ducks.

988 – Runs Sanju Samson scored in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals. He needs 12 more runs to become the 5th player to have scored 1000 runs for RR.

10 – RR have won each of their last ten T20 matches in Jaipur while chasing.

Lineups

Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Mahipal Lomror, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ish Sodhi

Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma

Key pointers

Jofra Archer finally made a dream debut for Rajasthan, scalping 3 crucial wickets at crucial stages of the match. He adds an exquisite death bowling attack option which is a vital addition to the Royals' repertoire. Jos Buttler has not delivered as per his name value yet but is a valuable asset for RR given his skills with the bat.

Heinrich Klaasen is going through the same as he has registered low scores in two matches. Ben Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane have looked well but both have not been quite successful to provide RR with some crucial partnerships.

SRH have not impressed in the batting department. They have registered low scores which their bowlers compensated on earlier occasions. Their bowling aspect has been tremendous. Rashid Khan has been in good touch while Shakib Al Hasan and Siddharth Kaul have been consistent from the start.