The Rajasthan Royals will look to firm their grip on a top-two place in IPL 2015 with victory over get-David-Warner-out-and-you-will-win-the-game Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.
RR ended a five-match winless run with a fairly comfortable victory over the Delhi Daredevils in their last game, a win which took them to 14 points. Sixteen points is usually the benchmark to ensure a playoff spot, and the Royals will know they can do just that by beating SRH.
Shane Watson and his men will especially be desperate to lock-in that playoff spot as quickly as possible after the alarming manner in which they were knocked out last season, when Mumbai Indians pulled off an unbelievable chase.
"We have spoken about it," said RR all-rounder Stuart Binny. "It was important to get on to a winning note after five games. We still have to win, still have to go out and play good cricket. If we do that, the win will come.
"We have reflected on what happened last year. We were in a similar position, where we had to win one game to qualify, but we took it a little too deep. It's about focusing on what we have in hand and what our opponents are like. We are playing on a pitch that is pretty much suited to the kind of attack we have and the batting that we have. We'll look to turn the tables this time."
For the Sunrisers Hyderabad, this match will be about finding that W again, after a woeful performance against KKR, where their batting order collapsed.
Every time Warner and Dhawan get out early, SRH look in trouble, and time is ripe for Tom Moody and the rest of the coaching staff to find a way to get their middle order firing.
While the two SRH openers, especially Warner, are matchwinners, they cannot do it all by themselves all the time. RR, though, will be aware of the soft middle-order underbelly, and they will look to get Warner and Dhawan out early and with it take a firm grip on the contest.
"We haven't absolutely nailed our middle order as well as we would like and I see that as more of an opportunity than a concern in a tournament like this. We have got an assured window to gain momentum and gain confidence as a team and as individuals.
"We haven't absolutely nailed our middle order as well as we would like and I see that as more of an opportunity than a concern in a tournament like this," said SRH coach Moody. "We have got an assured window to gain momentum and gain confidence as a team and as individuals."
The Sunrisers, who went down to RR at home earlier this season, are second bottom in seventh at the moment with eight points (or four wins) in nine matches. With five games left in their league season, SRH will probably need to win at least four out of five to stand a chance of qualifying.
"We were in a similar position last year as well where we are now, where our destiny is in our hands," added Moody. "With five games left, we are playing some of the opponents that we are challenging for the final four spot. It is a tight competition and every single game from this point is going to be critical and it's going to have a real shift in the table.
"I think our chances of qualifying are realistic with five games left. At the end of the day we will like to win five out of five. We have seen in T20 cricket that momentum is a funny thing. But realistically if we win three or four of the five then we have got a good chance."
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RR vs SRH IPL 2015 Match 41 is scheduled to start at 4 pm IST (11.30 am BST, 6.30 am ET) with live coverage in India on Sony Kix, Sony Six, Sony Aath and Sony Max. The match can also be watched via live streaming online on Hotstar and Starsports online.
Viewers in the US can go to ESPN to watch the IPL 2015 game live, while the action can be live streamed on ESPN Cricket. Audience in the UK and Europe can go to Sky Sports to catch the match, while the online live stream option is on Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports. Viewers across the world can also log on to Cricketgateway.com to catch the match live online.
