Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the 28th game of the new Indian Premier League season
Seventh-placed Rajasthan Royals take on eighth-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 28th match of the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 3.30pm IST (11am BST) on Sunday, May 2, 2021.
Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium is hosting the game.
Rajasthan and Sunrisers are two peas in a pod, both bustling with talent but short on victories.
Seventh-placed Rajasthan have won just two of their opening six matches, defeating Delhi Capitals and fellow strugglers Kolkata Knight Riders in tight matches. The men in pink have been put into bat first on two occasions – against RCB and Mumbai Indians – and failed to defend 170+ totals both times.
Batting has been a real issue for Sanju Samson’s side, with only himself and David Miller passing 50 in 2021, scoring 119 and 62, respectively. However, with the ball, record-signing Chris Morris is proving his worth with 11 wickets and an economy of 8.86.
Bottom of the table Sunrisers, meanwhile, have won just one match – a nine-wicket victory over Punjab Kings on April 21 – but did run Delhi close, losing by one run in the Super Over. In contrast to Rajasthan, Sunrisers struggle when asked to chase, winning only one of five matches despite limiting their opposition to sub-160 totals on four occasions.
Dafabet believe this match is too close to call, offering odds of 10/11 for both a Rajasthan win and a Sunrisers win.
Sunrisers are, however, backed to have the highest opening partnership, with odds of 3/4. Rajasthan are available at 11/10.
Jos Buttler is favourite to top-score for Rajasthan with odds of 23/10 while Warner is at the same odds to lead the way for Sunrisers.
Jos Buttler is having an unusually quiet IPL, scoring just 130 runs at a strike rate of 127.45 in six appearances. However, the England wicketkeeper has shown what he is capable of, most recently scoring 41 off 32 deliveries against Mumbai Indians to help his side post a target of 172 to win. If he can recreate that performance against Sunrisers, his partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal – who scored 32 from just 20 deliveries in the same match – may start to click.
Also, watch out for youngster Chetan Sakariya who has picked up seven wickets and bowled with an economy of eight – the second best in the squad – in his first six career IPL matches.
For Sunrisers, all eyes will be on Kane Williamson, who has replaced Warner as captain. The New Zealand international has scored 108 runs in three appearances, contributing knocks of 16 (19 balls), 26 (10) and 66 not out (51 balls) from number three. Ranked 56th on the T20 Player Index, Williamson has a tough job on his hands but his batting form should provide hope that Sunrisers' struggles can be resolved.
Rajasthan have no new injury concerns heading in their bottom of the table battle and are unlikely to make any changes after their top four all passed 30 against Mumbai on April 29.
Sunrisers, meanwhile, are without T Natarajan for the rest of the tournament after he underwent knee surgery. However, the biggest change is Williamson replacing Warner as captain. The team's management has also confirmed that the overseas picks are likely to change, perhaps offering an opportunity for Jason Roy to come into the XI in place of Warner. Rashid Khan is unlikely to be dropped.
Virat Singh, who has scored just 15 runs and isn't really shining as a middle-order run-smasher could also be jettisoned, with Manish Pandey or, if Jonny Bairstow is removed from the starting XI, one of Jason Holder or Mohammad Nabi as replacement options.
The two teams have played each other 13 times.
Rajasthan Royals wins: 6
Sunrisers Hyderabad wins: 7
Hot and dry conditions are forecast in Delhi, with temperatures between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius.
No, this match will be played behind closed doors owing to the Covid-19 situation in India.
A very tough call but, given the greater balance in the side and lack of pre-match drama, Rajasthan should edge a close encounter.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Rajasthan Royals squad: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye (left IPL for personal reasons on April 26), Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahim, Chetan Sakariya, K.C. Cariappa, Liam Livingstone (left IPL for personal reasons on April 19), Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad squad: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, Jason Holder, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Yadav, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Jason Roy
RR: Jos Buttler (WK), Yashavsi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C), David Miller, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
SRH: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Kane Williamson (C), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, J Suchith, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed
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