Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers: Preview
The Royals are back in their fortress of solitude. After a tremendous showdown in Bengaluru, the Royals continue their quest in Jaipur. They are up against the disappointed Deccan Chargers who had almost won their last outing against Mumbai, before Rohit Sharma spoiled the party by smashing a last ball six. The Deccan Chargers are yet to win a game and this is their first away game.
Rajasthan have looked solid as a team and invincible at home winning 17 of their last 19 games at home. Even with injuries to Cooper and Tait, they demolished RCB at the Chinnaswamy the other night. With Rahane in smoking hot form and Owais Shah rampaging like a bull, their batting looks really strong. On the bowling front, Trivedi, Amit Singh and Pankaj Singh have been among the wickets. They are consistently bowling good spells and look capable of defending small scores as well. However Botha and Chavan have not clicked and this seems to be the only worry for Dravid right now. With the T20 format, you never know, one good spell can change things.
Deccan Chargers are a strong bowling unit and Steyn is breathing fire. Especially against Mumbai, he was lethal – bowling screeching yorkers and screaming bouncers. He is well supported by Amit Mishra and Dan Christian. However, the batting department looks pale with only Dhawan scoring some runs. He looked good against Mumbai and would be keen to carry his form into this match. The Chargers back from a 8-day break, will be looking to get off the mark. Sangakkara and the rest will be out to prove a point.
Key Players
Rajasthan Royals
Ajinkya Rahane
He is in tremendous form and high on confidence after that century against RCB. However he will be up against Steyn. A mouth watering contest on the cards.
Owais Shah
Looks in great shape. Would be keen to spoil the party for DC.
Siddarth Trivedi
Line and length is his strength and he has stuck to it this season along with subtle variations.
Deccan Chargers
Dale Steyn
Would look to destroy the Rajasthan fortress with his scorching pace. Man to watch out for.
Shikhar Dhawan
The only batsman for DC to get some runs. If they need to stay in the match, Dhawan has to fire.
Amit Mishra
On the sluggish Jaipur wicket, he will come in handy. Would be keen to get among the wickets.
Prediction:
A cracker of a battle under the scorching Jaipur sun. It is the solid RR vs hungry DC. A battle between RR’s batting and DC’s bowling. A Rajasthan win in a close encounter, just because they are the better balanced side.