Since winning the first two matches, RR have lost four successive games and will aim to end their streak when they take on the SRH in Dubai.
Rajasthan Royals made a bright start to their IPL 2020 campaign, but the momentum came crumbling down after their first two matches, as the side went on to concede defeats in four successive matches. Bruised and battered with the string of losses, the RR will now aim to bounce back in style and are bolstered with the arrival of Ben Stokes, who arrived in the UAE last week.
It is unknown whether Stokes will be allowed time to practice, however, as he had been away from action for some time. Stokes was with his family in New Zealand after taking a compassionate leave during Pakistan's tour of England in August, following his father's brain cancer diagnosis.
"Stokes hasn't had a lot of practice, he gets out of quarantine tomorrow, so we'll see if he plays the day after tomorrow," skipper Steve Smith had said after the match against Delhi Capitals.
The Royals' top-order seemed to run out of fuel after a brilliant performance in the opening two games of the tournament and will aim to make a strong comeback against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Sanju Samson hasn't breached double-figures in the last four games, while Steve Smith's overtly aggressive approach has bewildered many. Jos Buttler is finding his groove, however, as he was the lone warrior in side's 57-run loss against Mumbai Indians earlier this week. Jaiswal, meanwhile, still looks a little overwhelmed.
Rajasthan's bowling is shouldered by pacer Jofra Archer and spinners Tewatia and Shreyas Gopal. The Royals were off to a flying start, winning both their games at Sharjah but the former champions have since struggled to replicate those performances.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, breathe a sigh of relief with Jonny Bairstow coming back to his aggressive best in the side's previous game against KXIP. Bairstow had scored 97 off 55 deliveries, while Warner too, returned to run-scoring with a cautious half-century.
Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson are batsmen who can use the long handle to good effect while youngsters Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma are trying to carve a niche for themselves.
Despite losing senior pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh to injuries, Sunrisers have shown tremendous fighting abilities with the world's top-ranked T20 bowler Rashid and yorker specialist T Natarajan dishing out splendid performances.
Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shreevats Goswami, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jason Holder, Abhishek Sharma, B Sandeep, Sanjay Yadav, Fabian Allen, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddharth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi.
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Andrew Tye, Kartik Tyagi, Steven Smith (c), Ankit Rajpoot, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Mahipal Lomror, Oshane Thomas, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Akash Singh, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shashank Singh, Varun Aaron, Tom Curran, Robin Uthappa, Aniruddha Joshi, Jofra Archer.
