Survival of the fittest: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma ready to ignite SRH vs RR Eliminator

The Indian Premier League is set to move one step further to its decisive phase as Sunrisers Hyderabad is set to meet the Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator in New Chandigarh. Mullanpur is set to stage the eliminator for the very first time in IPL history. Sunrisers has been remained one of the consistent teams of the season first under Ishan Kishan then under Pat Cummins the Orange Army flew high this year, they have found some good pace bowlers under the coaching of Varun Aaron, Praful Hinge and Shakib Hussaibn both had a dream debut taking four wickets in the very first game, Shakib remained one of the finest with the ball for them and the inclusion of Pat Cummins along with chinaman Shiwang Kumar has been remained tremendous for the orange army.

Whereas another Bihar boy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has showcased unreal potential at the age of just 15 years. The swashbuckler has hammered 583 runs in 14 matches so far, with an outstanding strike rate of 232.27. The baby Gayle has already smashed 53 sixes and broken the record of Chris Gayle of hammering the most sixes in a season.

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On the other hand, Yashasvi Jaiswal also complemented himself well and did not give him the chance to fall into the shade of his opening partner. On the other hand, Dhruv Jurel at the down, also remained one of their key players. Apart from the top order, their middle order batting has remained a concern but the bowlers have very much filled the gaps. Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger have worked for them really well.

Strategy

Both teams have the potential to cause serious damage to the bowling line-up of other teams. It is going to be a battle of left handers, if a team has Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the other team has Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, this match up can easily outmuscle anyone’s bowling but it will be important for both teams’ bowlers to use tactics and analyse the momentum. Bowlers are going to be the key for this match.

What to expect?

Temperatures in the city, much like the rest of North India, have remained intense, with the mercury staying above 40 degrees Celsius even after 5 PM. Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach James Franklin confirmed that Pitch No. 4 will be used for the clash. The same surface was used in SRH’s previous match against Punjab Kings, where Hyderabad posted 219 before PBKS chased it down comfortably.

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The venue has consistently produced high-scoring contests, especially in the first innings, where the average total stands at 214. Punjab Kings even crossed the 250-run mark against Lucknow Super Giants during the league stage. However, scoring tends to slow down considerably after the Powerplay.

Interestingly, spinners have enjoyed slightly better returns at the venue this season, maintaining an economy rate of 9.29 compared to pacers, who have gone at 11.06 runs per over across four matches.