Revitalised RR or enterprising SRH - who will join KKR in the final?

And then there were three. 

A revitalised Rajasthan Royals, an enterprising Sunrisers Hyderabad and a dominant Kolkata Knight Riders. One has already made it to the final, reducing this epic battle to just two challengers. 

Rajasthan were winless in May before their previous encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 22 (Wednesday). But now, they have found their mojo back when SRH have just about lost theirs. Time and again this season, SRH have depended heavily on their batting unit. 

But in their previous head-to-head clash against the Royals, their bowling eked out a narrow win by a run. Will SRH’s batting unit flip the script after a blip in their previous encounter, or will the Royals continue their stellar bowling efforts? 

It already makes for a compelling narrative. Fasten your seatbelts for we're likely in for some compelling action as well.

RR vs SRH Head-to-Head

Overall: 19 | SRH 10 | RR 9

Since 2022: 4 | SRH 2 | RR 2

Playoffs: 1 | SRH 0 | RR 1

Venue Details and Weather Conditions

Chepauk is a slightly tricky venue. Wisdom from this year will tell you that bowling first is the way to go, but with no dew, it might be quite a good venue to defend. The weather is expected to be 34 degrees Celsius, meaning dew could play a role later. 

Teams batting first will have to target over 200 if they want to win. Pacers have taken 55 wickets, while spinners have picked up 17 wickets. However, it is worth noting that the spinners have a far superior economy (7.3) compared to the pacers (9.1). 

In the last ten games at the venue, SRH have won just one fixture, while RR have come clutch in two games. So, expect both teams to utilise their spin quota.

Things to watch out for

Ravichandran Ashwin’s homecoming

He’s back. The monster in the lab is back, one great display after another. Ravichandran Ashwin had a tough start to this year’s IPL, but his numbers have reflected his legendary status as the season has progressed. Across the first nine games, Ashwin returned with just two wickets, averaging 157.5, featuring amongst the worst bowlers in the competition.

But if the last five games are any indication, Ashwin is back. He’s struck seven times, averaging 15.6 and an ER of 6.8, including figures of 2/19 against a gargantuan RCB batting unit. He’s now back home, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where he’s picked up 50 IPL wickets. 

Against a team that has so many left-handed batters, Ashwin could well prove to be the difference. 

Do SRH really need Vijaykanth Viyaskanth?

Out of nowhere, Vijaykanth Viyaskanth found himself on the plane to India and subsequently in SRH’s playing XI. While not many people were aware of his capabilities, the leg-spinner quietly went on to play three games at the IPL. But now that people do, do SRH need the Sri Lankan leg-spinner? 

Given that SRH already have a proven leggie in Mayank Markande, SRH could benefit from the batsmanship of Glenn Philips, who could be a handy addition. Not only does Phillips give SRH batting solidity, but he can also double up as a valuable off-spinner and triple up as a stupendous fielder. He could also provide the spark that SRH’s middle-order has lacked recently.

Trent Boult vs Travis Head, then! 

In back-to-back games, it has been proven that Travis Head is, after all, a human. Across those fixtures, against Punjab Kings and KKR, Head scored a two-ball duck and a first-ball duck. There’s a pattern to those dismissals, that is left-arm pacers. 

Head has been dismissed by left-arm pacers thrice in the season, with Arshdeep alone dismissing him twice. The key to dismissing him has been the Test match length around the off-stump line. In Trent Boult, Rajasthan have exactly that: someone who can bowl that nudging line. 

If RR attack with a slip or a two, there is a good chance that lightning could strike thrice in three games. 

Probable XIs

RR’s XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shimron Hetmyer (IP)

SRH’s XI: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande (IP)

TV and streaming details

The match will begin at 7:30 PM and will be streamed and telecasted on Jio Cinema and Star Sports. 

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