Kolkata Knight Riders await the winners of this contest between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals. James Richardson previews the second Qualifier.
The Royals have the momentum of a win in the IPL eliminator in a tense match but will have to come to a venue they lost at less than two weeks ago.
SRH have also lost at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and both sides put in disappointing batting efforts at this ground
To Win Match
Sunrisers 82/100 | Tie 25/1 | Royals 1/1
The Sunrisers come into this game without any significant momentum having lost in Qualifier 1.
Their great strength has been their batting and particularly the top order but they didn’t fire in their loss to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Last season the Gujarat Titans overcame a loss in the first qualifier to use the second bite at the cherry to reach the championship match and they weren’t the first team to achieve that feat either.
The Sunrisers need to get back to their dominant best if they are to come through this one as a close contest will likely favour their opponents who had to come through a tense eliminator already.
The Rajasthan Royals made life difficult for themselves in a tight eliminator but they got key performances from crucial players.
Riyan Parag’s innings that took the Royals to the brink of victory was a crucial cameo even if his wicket ensured that the finish was a nervy one.
The Royals’ bowlers had already put in their work before things ever got tight and Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin gave their side a huge lift.
Avesh Khan bounced back well from some early punishment and is likely to be a key bowler once again in this second qualifier.
Verdict: Rajasthan Royals 1/1
The Royals winning a tight one last time out should give them the confidence to get up and win this one as well.
