The Rajasthan Royals have been in terrific form at the ongoing IPL 2015, where they are yet to taste defeat, and they would be eager to keep their winning streak alive, which has helped them stay atop the standings table with three consecutive victories.
The Royals face Sunrisers Hyderabad at the ACA stadium in Vishakhapatnam on Thursday, which promises to be a big clash comprising some big names in world cricket.
The Sunrisers would be upbeat after they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last game by eight wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Sunrisers chased down the Royal Challengers target of 160 odd runs in the 18th over of the game.
It was an impressive performance by the Sunrisers, who performed with both the bat and ball, but are aware of the stern test later today.
The Rajasthan Royals have some good batsmen in their ranks including one of the standout performers for Australia in the ICC 2015 World Cup, Steve Smith, who has led the team from the front in Shane Watson's absence.
Apart from Smith, they also have some Indian batsmen such as Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, and all rounders such as James Faulkner and Deepak Hooda, with the latter taking the IPL by storm after his exploits with the bat.
But, these batsmen would be put under severe test by the Sunrisers' bowlers led by Trent Boult, who has taken four wickets in IPL 2015. The bowler has been such a threat that Sunrisers captain David Warner has not even played South African, Dale Steyn in their side.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is another key bowler for the Sunrisers.
But imagine a bowling up, which would have Boult and Dale Steyn opening the bowling for Sunrisers. For this to happen, they need to either drop Ravi Bopara, who is used as an all-rounder or Trent Boult and at this moment, it seems unlikely especially with the form Boult is in.
"Trent Boult has been in fantastic form. Look at how he bowled in the World Cup. We feel Trent is just ahead of Dale (Steyn). We will definitely use Dale in the tournament. At the moment Trent is going fantastic so Dale just misses out, " ESPN Cricinfo quoted Sunrisers captain as saying.
As for Rajasthan Royals, they are still awaiting the return of Shane Watson, who has been a huge figure for the Royals in previous editions of the tournament. He is still recovering from a hip injury and he might only be fully fit for their next game.
Hence, South African Chris Morris gets one more game for the Royals, who might have to give away his place when Watson comes back into the team.
" We are going to travel to Vizag overnight so it's going to be touch and go for the next game [for the game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad]. I will surely be back in the team for our game against the Chennai Super Kings," IPL's official website quoted Watson as saying on Wednesday.
Where to Watch Live
Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad is set to begin at 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET). The match will be shown live in India on Sony Six, Sony Max, Sony Kix and Sony Aath, while the live streaming option is on Hotstar and Starsports Online.
Audience in the UK can live stream the match online on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports while the IPL 2015 action will be shown live on Sky Sports 4. Catch the game live in the US on ESPN and ESPN Cricket.
The match can be live streamed online by viewers around the world on Cricket Gateway.
