IPL 2020 RR vs SRH Match 40: Preview, Playing XI Predictions, weather report

Tags: Indian T20 League 2020, Rajasthan XI vs Hyderabad XI, 40th Match at Dubai, Oct 22, 2020, Rajasthan XI, Hyderabad XI

Published on: Oct 22, 2020

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Having handed Chennai Super Kings a seven-wicket defeat, Rajasthan Royals would be hoping for a late revival in IPL 2020. They will take on under-performing Sunrisers Hyderabad in match number 40 of IPL 2020 at Dubai on Thursday. SRH go into the game having suffered a Super Over defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders, thanks to a stupendous bowling effort by Lockie Ferguson. Despite experiencing contrasting fortunes in their last encounter, both Rajasthan and Hyderabad are aware that their chances of play-off qualifications remain slim. While RR are at sixth position with eight points, SRH are seventh with six points.

There were some significant positives for Rajasthan in the triumph over Chennai. Batting in the middle-order, Jos Buttler returned to form with an impressive 70 not out. Skipper Steve Smith also continued to return to runs with a steady knock. In the bowling department as well, Jofra Archer once again stood out while the spin duo of Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia did an excellent job.

Rajasthan though still have plenty of room for improvement. Ben Stokes is yet to come into his own while Robin Uthappa has had a torrid run but for a couple of decent knocks. The lack of runs from Sanju Samson has now become a massive handicap for the franchise. After an incredible start, he has looked completely out of sorts.

Sunrisers have suffered on dual counts. First because of their heavy dependency on a few players in the batting, and second due to injury to their key bowlers. David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson have been among the runs, but Manish Pandey has played some poor strokes to gift his wicket away on more than one occasion. Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad are still trying to make their mark.

SRH’s bowling clearly lacks depth. They are heavily dependent on star spinner Rashid Khan. Apart from T. Natarajan, the rest haven’t been able to make much of an impact. Hyderabad might thus need to rework their strategy.

Head-to-Head record: SRH and RR have met 12 times in the IPL and have won six games each.

SRH Predicted XI: David Warner(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi

RR Predicted XI: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson(w), Steven Smith(c), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi

Pitch report

Teams have been able to chase down challenging targets at Dubai. KXIP successfully chased 165 with ease in their previous match against Delhi Capitals. Bowlers have come into play as well. A sporting surface.

Weather conditions

Temperature will be around 30 degrees Celsius at the start and should cool down as the game approaches. Humidity is expected to be high though.

--Renin Wilben

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