See you guys soon, as we head into Super Saturday where we have two mega-contests awaiting us at Mohali and New Delhi.
Kings XI Punjab meets Mumbai Indians in its first home match this season while in the second match we have the Delhi Capitals taking on Kolkata Knight Riders at Qila Kotla.
◘ Rajasthan Royals is trying to jump back into the contest and how! But is it too late now? RR 187/5, after 18 overs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad requires another 22 runs with five wickets and 22 balls remaining.
◘ Are the Sunrisers bottling it from here on? Manish Pandey walks too now, trapped plumb in front by who else? Shreyas Gopal on a hat-trick. FOW: 167/5, after 15.4 overs.
◘ And another one bites the dust! Vijay Shankar is taking the long walk back to the pavilion now. He was timing it perfectly tonight but he simply hadn't put enough into this shot which balloons to the fielder at long on. FOW: 167/4, after 15.3 overs.
◘ And Jaydev Unadkat removes SRH skipper Kane Williamson as Rahul Tripathi takes a wonderful catch at point. But there are no celebrations from the Royals. Have they made peace with their fortune now itself? FOW: 164/3, 14.4 overs.
◘ New man in Vijay Shankar showing some sparks here and there. Ohh wait, the sparks are getting more frequent now. SMOKED! Two sixes. And two huge sixes there. 27 off 11, so far. SRH 153/2, after 14 overs.
◘ And finally Jaydev Unadkat has come in to bowl. Quite late, we would say? And he concedes just six runs from the 13th over. Quite some tight bowling, that! SRH 136/2, after 13 overs.
◘ And in no time! A few deliveries ago, Kulkarni dropped Bairstow but he does not repeat the same mistake. This time he is at long off and makes up for the previous error by pulling off a spectacular catch to see the Englishman off. FOW: 117/2, 12 overs.
◘ It has been a treat to watch the Aussie! David Warner departs after making 69 off 37 balls. Gets under it but a top-edge goes to Kulkarni at the fine leg boundary. FOW: 110/1, 9.4 overs.
◘ What a mighty run chase we are witnessing! Shreyas Gopal, who was looking good with the ball has been smashed for a six too now. But it is the Englishman this time. Yes, Jonny Bairstow bludgeons it over deep midwicket! SRH 104/0, after nine overs.
◘ And people who thought Archer was the key after his last over, have been proved terribly wrong. Warner and Bairstow too now, shake hands and hit him for three boundaries combined. SRH 69/0, after six overs.
David Warner reaches his half-century in no time. 26 balls are what he took. Just 26 balls, ladies and gents! And this is his 41st 50+ score in the IPL.
◘ Stokesy to have a go with the ball now. 4,4,0,4,1,4 in no time shows the lower panel on the giant screen. Warner has moved up to 45 off just 23 balls. SRH 54/0, after five overs.
◘ Jofra Archer walks in, and maintains a decent length throughout the over. Quite unplayable, goes for just three runs. RR breathes a sigh of relief. SRH 37/0, after four overs.
◘ As we wait for Jofra Archer to make his appearance within the first six overs, Kulkarni has been handed the ball for the second time today. Kulkarni meanwhile, continues to bowl wide and full, almost inviting Warner to have a go at him. SRH 34/0, after three overs.
◘ The early onslaught by Warner is very much on! Krishnappa Gowtham has been brought into the attack in the second over itself and Warner doesn't let him breathe either. 11 runs conceded in that over. SRH 25/0, after two overs.
◘ The second innings resumes with a cheeky glance for a boundary from David Warner off Dhawal Kulkarni. And that is not all, it seems... The fourth ball of the over has been hammered over the deep-midwicket fence. David Warner at it from the very first over? Remains to be seen. SRH 13/0 after one over.
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◘ 21 runs coming in the last over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Sanju Samson blasts four boundaries and earns himself the Orange Cap! What a fine show this has been from the 24-year old. RR finishes at 198/2, sets SRH a huge target.
◘ Sandeep Sharma has been brought back into the attack and does Sanju Samson care? I guess not! The man has moved on to 96 off 53 deliveries. Is Hyderabad going to witness the first century of IPL 12? RR 177/2, after 19 overs.
◘ It is all happening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad! 6, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4 off a Bhuvneshwar over from Samson. Need we say more ? Guess not! RR 164/2, after 18 overs.
◘ DROPPED! This is the last thing that Williamson wanted. A leading edge from Sanju Samson goes high and there are five players converging underneath. Bairstow calls but he has let it burst through his gloves. Not a good sign. RR 137/2, after 16.4 overs.
◘ A fine innings from the skipper comes to an end. Nadeem lures Rahane to go for a biggie who skies it. Manish Pandey takes a comfortable catch at long on. FOW: 134/1, after 15.5 overs.
◘ Rashid Khan walking in for his last over shows how Williamson is desperate for a wicket here. We see a classy reverse sweep from Rahane which rockets to the fence. Six runs from that over. RR 122/1 after 15 overs.
◘ Sandeep Sharma goes for runs again! 11 from that over. RR 116/1 after 14 overs.
◘ Rashid bowls his third over and the batsmen do not experiment much. Wise decision? Yes absolutely, we say. Four runs from that over and a missed opportunity where Rahane edged to the keeper but SRH decided not to go for the review. RR 105/1, after 13 overs.
Ajinkya Rahane brings up his 50 off 38 balls.
◘ Ajinkya Rahane with a customised greeting for Tirunelveli all-rounder Vijay Shankar as he comes in to bowl. Shankar strays to the leg and Rahane picks him up for a sweet maximum towards the deep square leg fence. RR 101/1, after 12 overs.
Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson have powered Rajasthan Royals past 100.
◘ Ajinkya Rahane looks to be in quite some touch today. The boundary off Kaul speaks volumes! RR 88/1, after 11 overs.
◘ Shahbaz Nadeem, who was handed the ball after the 'Strategic Timeout' has been smoked by Rahane! Right off the middle of his bat in the final ball of the over. Meanwhile, the 50-run partnership comes up for the duo off 38 balls, in the tenth over. RR 75/1, after 10 overs.
◘ Samson goes after Rashid Khan as well, as he hits him for a risky boundary off the third ball of the over. RR 62/1, after nine overs.
◘ Siddarth Kaul goes for 10 runs in his second over as Samson blasts another six towards deep midwicket. Vijay Shankar just fails to get his fingers on it. RR 55/1, after eight overs.
◘ SMOKED! Shahbaz Nadeem goes for 10 runs in his first over. Samson hits him for the first maximum of the day, slog sweep to deep squareleg. RR 45/1, after seven overs.
◘ Siddarth Kaul has been brought into the attack, indicating more of Rashid Khan's spin mysteries at the death. And the Pathankot seamer does a fine job, conceding four runs in this over. RR 35/1, after six overs.
◘ Sanju Samson joins Rahane at the crease. Sandeep Sharma, coming in to bowl in his second over, maintains the tight length but Rahane punishes him for the one slower ball by hitting him towards the midwicket for a boundary. RR 30/1, after five overs.
◘ CASTLED! Rashid Khan sure does know how to announce his arrival! Buttler is gone! The new ball keeps low and slides towards Buttler, who tries to go for the sweep. He ends up completely misjudging the length. FOW: RR 15/1, after 3.2 overs.
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CLOSE! Kumar is back and oh my! Rahane breathes a sigh of relief as a leading edge just balloons over the head of the bowler in the very first ball.
A minute and four deliveries later, we have the first boundary of the match. Jos Buttler opens the face of his willow and punches the ball towards the covers.
RR 15/0, after three overs .
◘ Sandeep Sharma too looks to be in fine rhythm today as he is consistently getting it to hit the right line and length. A run-out scare in the last ball, but all's well and good for the visitor. RR 8/0, after two overs.
◘ And thus ends a tight first over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. There is a hint of early movement away from the right-handed Ajinkya Rahane. RR 3/0, after one over.
Toss update: Rajasthan Royals has won the toss and will bat first. Kane Williamson is back as the skipper of SRH.
Kane Williamson would have loved to bat first too. This is what he said at the toss. "We would've liked to bat first as well. It is important that we do it well with the ball early now. Shakib al Hasan and Hooda miss out from the last match. Myself and Shabaz come in. It looks like a good surface and it is important that we adapt with the ball first up and it's all about executing our skills and our plans. The injury recovery is coming along nicely. Every side enjoys playing at their home ground in front of a wonderful crowd.
Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane, after winning the toss, said, "We're looking to bat first. I don't know how this wicket will behave but I am sure that the wicket won't change much in the 40 overs. We're going in with the same combination; we don't believe in a lot of changes. I think staying in the present is all what this format is all about. We need to stick to our strengths and back ourselves.
The Indian Premier League season 12 just started a week ago and we are not short of adrenalin rush. From the pitch doing the talking in Chennai, Rishabh Pant's innings in Delhi, Ravichandran Ashwin's 'mankading' and missing the numbers fielders inside the circle to Lasith Malinga's no-ball, it has been a roller-coaster ride. What will Hyderabad offer tonight?
The 22 yards at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is going to be a good batting surface. The temperature is around the 30 degree celsius mark and it might be a little hot in the middle. We expect, there is no dew factor playing a role in Hyderabad.
Who do you think will have the upper hand tonight? Here is our video preview as we gear up for the exciting contest.
In the nine meetings between the two teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad has won five times and Rajasthan has won four times. Will RR restore parity or will SRH widen the gap?
The spotlight will be on Steve Smith and David Warner when Sunrisers Hyderabad takes on Rajasthan Royals. There is a chance of Kane Williamson returning to lead the side. Both the sides remain winless after having played one match each.
Our reporter V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM's preview may give you a clear picture: Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to regroup when it takes on Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday.
With Sunrisers suffering a defeat in the opener against Kolkata Knight Riders, courtesy a blitzkrieg of an innings by Andre Russell, questions have been raised over its bowling attack.
The major concern is the diminishing striking prowess of its star bowler and knuckle-ball specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Kumar has been struggling a bit in the last year or so. So, it will be a challenge for him to bounce back in the second game of the season.
In the batting department, it will be interesting to see who partners David Warner -- who reminded about his destructive ability even in the first match on his comeback against KKR the other night -- as Kane Williamson is said to be fit for the game against Royals. He is also expected to lead the side and that would certainly be a boost for the home team.
All-rounder Vijay Shankar has proved his utility value in the first game with his new-found confidence which is a major plus. In a way, there could be few batting worries for the home team.
On the other hand, Royals, led by Ajinkya Rahane, should look for an improved performance after chocking against Kings XI Punjab in the first game.
It has class and depth in batting with the likes of Rahane, Jos Buttler, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson capable of turning the game around on their own.
Even the bowling too looks good enough with pace in the hands of West Indian Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni. As far spin is concerned, it has Krishnappa Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal. But then, it will be a tough challenge for them when they take on SRH.
By all means, the match, first at home for SRH, should be the perfect stage for the host to return to winning ways.
The match will be streamed live on Hotstar.
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