RR vs SRH, IPL 2021: Who will score the most runs in today's match?
Rajasthan Royals (RR) will meet the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Match 28 of the IPL 2021 season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi in the afternoon game on Sunday. Both teams are coming into the game on the back of comprehensive defeats and will be keen to get back to winning ways.
RR were comprehensively beaten by seven wickets in their last game against defending champions Mumbai Indians. SRH were also thumped by CSK, and their management has now taken a big call by dropping David Warner as captain.
New Zealand star Kane Williamson will lead the side for the remainder of the tournament and Warner may even be dropped from the playing XI. SRH are hopeful that the change in leadership will take the burden off Warner and help him get back to his best as a batsman.
RR vs SRH: 3 Batsmen to watch out for
Both RR and SRH have had issues with their batting this season as they haven't been able to post huge totals consistently. As seen in the game between MI and CSK on Saturday, even a total of 218 was chased down by the defending champions.
It is extremely important to have runs on the board given the smaller dimensions of the ground and the pitch offering little to no assistance for the bowlers. On that note, let's have a look at the three batsmen who can leave their mark on the RR vs SRH encounter:
#3 Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler isn't having the greatest of IPL 2021 seasons with the bat, but he doesn't appear to be woefully out of form either. The swashbuckling Englishman has got off to some great starts but hasn't quite converted them into big scores.
Ever since Ben Stokes was ruled out of the tournament, Buttler has been asked to open the batting, something that has brought the best out of him in T20s. Many expected him to set the stage on fire again for RR at the top of the order.
But Buttler has scored only 130 runs in the first six games and hasn't converted his starts into big scores. Being one of the senior players in the team, Buttler will need to make big contributions to bring RR back into the reckoning for a place in the playoffs.
With a number of injuries ravaging RR, Buttler will be determined to put up an inspiring batting performance against SRH.
#2 Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has had a mixed bag as far as his batting this season is concerned. The RR skipper has amassed 229 runs from six games at a brilliant average of 45.80, but has been inconsistent.
Samson has faced criticism in the past for throwing his wicket away despite having all the talent in the world. But the responsibility of the captaincy seems to bring him back on track. The 27-year-old played a fine knock of 42 against MI, but it wasn't enough to win them the game.
Samson knows he needs to score big to put his team in a commanding position. This is the perfect time for him to face SRH, since he enjoyed batting against this particular franchise in the past.
In 16 games against SRH, Samson has scored 485 runs at a healthy average of 40.41. He also has a century against the Hyderabad-based outfit and will back himself to get another big score to help his team emerge victorious.
#1 Kane Williamson
Ever since Kane Williamson came back into the SRH side, they have looked more balanced in their batting. The Kiwi star has scored 108 runs in three innings and is yet to be dismissed in the tournament. However, he has now been handed over the reins of the captaincy as well.
Although many believe it is a harsh decision to remove Warner from the captaincy, Williamson's form as a batsman has been incredible when he captains SRH. In the IPL 2018 season, where Williamson took SRH to the final in the absence of Warner, he scored an outstanding 735 runs at a stupendous average of 52.50.
SRH will be hopeful that captaincy once again brings the best out of Williamson - the batsman. They need an inspired run of performances to save their season, having won just one of their first six games, and their new skipper can certainly lead from the front against RR.