HYDERABAD: The city is getting ready for a very hot spell. The mercury has already gone over 40 and is still going up. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won’t care about any of it when he plays against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are still trying to figure things out in this year’s IPL.
The Rajasthan Royals are on fire going into the game at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday, and a lot of that is because to Sooryavanshi. He had a reputation to protect going into this round, and Sooryavanshi is doing it in style, tearing apart bowlers and attacks like a 15-year-old.
Rajasthan has demonstrated that they are just as good at setting or chasing down totals thanks to Yasashvi Jaiswal’s marauding ways at the top. When you add in Dhruv Jurel’s calm presence in the middle, it’s easy to see why the Rajasthan top three are at the top of the Orange cap standings. Rajasthan is moving like a fire train when Sooryavanshi strikes at 266.66.
Abhishek Sharma also hits at 218.64, but not regularly, which has hurt the Sunrisers. They must have learned by now that last year’s blueprint of a total of more than 200 is no longer a sure bet.
The Sunrisers are now getting back at the teams that were jealous of them last season when they broke 200 for fun. In their last game against Rajasthan at this stadium, they scored 286/6, the second best total in IPL history. One year is a long period in sports, and the IPL is always changing. The Sunrisers scored more than 200 runs three times this year.
They successfully defended it against the Kolkata Knight Riders and won by 65 runs, which was their sole win in four matches. They then watched as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and, more recently, the Punjab Kings quickly beat their totals. All of them were away games for SRH. They played four times, including their sole home game against the Lucknow Super Giants, when Mohammed Shami’s skill led to their defeat.
In the high-scoring game between the two teams here last season, Ishan Kishan was the hero with his 47-ball 106. SRH triumphed by 44 runs. If the captain can do that again, it will give the Sun’s attack, which looks a little shaky without Pat Cummins, something to bowl at.