IPL 2018: RR vs SRH- Star players who can be the match-winners if they step-up for their franchises
The Rajasthan Royals take on the Sunrisrers Hyderabad in a crucial encounter at the Sawai Mansingh stadium this weekend. While the Sunrisers are coming into the game after two brilliant victories courtesy their bowlers, Royals need to make the most of their home advantage.With the SRH bowlers doing an incredible job in restricting the oppositions, it all depends on how well their batsmen and all-rounders complement the bowlers by putting up a decent score on the board.
Sadly, that has not been the case for the Orange army so far, as many of their batsmen have been struggling for runs.With the Royals losing three out of their six matches so far, they need to put up a strong fight to overcome the threat of Sunrisers's bowling unit. Let us now look at two players who can make the difference in this crunch Super-Sunday fixture at Jaipur if they step-up.
Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals)
Stokes, who made his IPL debut last season playing for the now-defunct, Rising Pune Supergiant scored 316 runs and took 12 wickets in the 12 matches he played for the Pune franchise. His rich experience in the shortest format was of great help to the RPS, as they reached the finals where they lost to the Mumbai Indians by one run . This season, Stokes was once again the most expensive buy at the auctions as the Rajasthan Royals bought him for a mammoth INR 12.5 crore.In the six matches so far, the Most Valuable player of the last edition has scored 147 runs with his highest score being 45 against the Chennai Super Kings.
Stokes, who had a poor start to the season is now is back to his usual best after the scores of 45 and 40 against Chennai and Mumbai. With just a solitary wicket to his name this season, he needs to step up and put up a better all-round display and justify the enormous price tag and the faith of Rajasthan management. But is hard write off a player like Stokes who can single-handedly turn the course of the game. So watch-out for the flamboyant Englishman when the Royals take on Williamson's men at Jaipur this weekend.