Sunrisers Hyderabad have been the high flyers this season. Riding high on the opening stand between Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the side has been the fastest-scoring team inside the first six overs during this year’s IPL and their run rate of 11.48 is the best among the 10 teams.
They already have three hundred+ partnerships and as many as seven partnerships where the run-rate is in excess of 10. The left-handers have together scored 676 runs in 13 innings, that too at an astonishing run-rate of 13.65. Four times in the tournament, they have had partnerships where the run rate has been in excess of 15 and they have troubled the opposition more often than not.
While Head has continued with his dream run, Abhishek has been the revelation this season. The aggressive opener is yet to face 30 deliveries in a single innings but his returns – 470 runs in 14 matches – are better than the likes of Rishabh Pant, Faf du Plessis, Phillip Salt, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma.
RR and SRH met in the league stage of the tournament earlier this month and that game saw RR dominate the powerplay with the ball. It wasn’t Trent Boult or R Ashwin—considering his match-up against left-handers—but Avesh Khan who drew first blood. The seamer picked the wickets of both openers. SRH’s flight was cut short to 201/3 after 20 overs.
READ MORE: IPL 2024 Qualifier 2: RR, SRH and Final Berth on The Line in Chennai
If SRH had been a high-flying eagle, RR would have been the hunter to bring the high fliers down. If SRH had dictated terms with the bat, RR have controlled proceedings with the ball. The Sanju Samson-led unit has picked 24 wickets in between overs 1-6 during this year’s IPL and have the best economy rate of 8.03 too. However, on Friday, they will be up against the most destructive pair in the tournament.
Head has had a quiet couple of games after PBKS and KKR both dismissed him on duck. On both occasions, a left-arm seamer – Mitchell Starc and Arshdeep Singh– saw the back of Head early in the contest. There will be another left-arm seamer Trent Boult in action during Qualifier 2 and both SRH openers would be better off seeing his deliveries off.
SRH have enough firepower in the batting but RR have what it takes to douse the fire. Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma with the new ball, the odd over by Avesh Khan and at least one by Yuzvendra Chahal make a very well-rounded attack. If the pace doesn’t work, Samson always has the option of going ahead with Ashwin or Chahal and with SRH openers being lefties; the former is likely to have an early start to his day.
READ MORE: ‘Eat, Sleep, Bowl, Repeat’: Avesh Khan Reaping Rewards For Keeping it Simple
Set to make his 24th playoff appearance, Ashwin has no shortage of experience in bowling at this ground. The veteran offie managed just one wicket from the side’s first seven fixtures but found his rhythm and went on to add 8 wickets in 6 games. Ashwin’s best spell came when it mattered the most, in the eliminator against RCB.
RR gave very little away in the Eliminator clash as RCB huffed and puffed their way to the 170s. Boult was rock solid in the powerplay and Ashwin, during the middle overs. While other bowlers went for runs, Ashwin (2/19) and Boult (1/16) rendered RCB toothless. RCB lost the wicket of Faf and the scoreboard read 50/1 at the end of the sixth over.
While both teams would want to be on top of their game, especially in the first six overs, in all departments, all of RR’s energy would be focused on keeping the openers under check.
RR’s bowling vs SRH’s batting in the powerplay is expected to determine the contest in Chennai, but will it be really so?
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