Will Rahul Dravid guide reeling Rajasthan to victory?
After 73 matches the Indian Premier League reaches its first knockout game, as Rajasthan and Hyderabad meet in Delhi on Wednesday. One of them will go home, the other will go through to the final qualifier on Friday. Richard O'Hagan previews the game and picks the winner.
Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad
Wednesday 22 May, 15:30 BST
Live on ITV4 and itv.com
Rajasthan Royals
The spot-fixing scandal which hit Rajasthan at the end of last week was a body blow to a franchise which has consistently over-performed this season. Before that, there was much talk of how Rahul Dravid had fostered a great team spirit which was pulling the Royals to a successful season; now, the question has to be whether that will be enough for them to overcome this major setback.
In terms of selection, it won't make a lot of difference. None of the players concerned played in more than half of their group games and none of them had a strike rate of even one wicket per game. A bigger concern will be that they get Sunday's bad performance against the same opponents out of their system and get back to the form which saw them lose just two of their last seven games. Don't expect too many changes to the team, but look for Brad Hodge to bat much higher up the order than the 6th or 7th spot he has occupied of late. The team needs more experience and more impetus in the upper middle order than it has had of late.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Hyderabad have been the surprise team of this year's IPL, taking the core of the defunct Deccan Chargers squad and turning them into a winning team. This is despite the fact that their captain keeps dropping himself, the attack seems to consist entirely of one man, and one of their top run scorers being an all-rounder who rarely bats higher than number eight. Whether Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera and nine others will be enough to win the IPL is open to debate, but they have shown that they are more than capable of beating any side on their day.
Venue and Conditions
Predicting what might happen on this Delhi pitch is rendered more complicated by it have been used by the IPL's bottom team all season. Teams not called 'Delhi Daredevils' who batted first here all made scores of over 160, including Rajasthan, who made 165. Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost seven wickets and used up 116 balls chasing a victory target of just 115. It is going to be a chilly night by Delhi standards, a mere 35 degrees. Daytime temperature will be closer to 45, which means that the sudden fall could make dew a factor.
Match Odds
That this is a close game to call is reflected in the market, with Rajasthan at 1.9420/21 and Hyderabad at 2.0621/20. Hyderabad won Sunday's meeting by 23 runs, but the Royals had an equally (if not more) comfortable win in the first match between the two, strolling home by eight wickets. A Rajasthan win looks the safer bet here.
Top Rajasthan Batsman
Cometh the hour, cometh The Wall. If you are looking for a big name to play a big game, look no further than the Royals' captain. Dravid hasn't had a great IPL, getting starts at the top of the order, but without pushing on to a big score. In the first knockout match and with the side he helped build reeling already, back him at 4.3100/30 to top score.
Top Hyderabad Batsman
Of all of the Sunrisers' batsmen, the one who stands out in this market is Darren Sammy. The West Indian captain has made a few good scores in this competition, he lifted the T20 World Cup only last year and has a habit of making runs in crunch games. Back him at odds of 6.05/1
Recommended Bet:
Back Darren Sammy at 6.05/1 to be top Hyderabad batsman.
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