Royals look to close in on playoff spot

Thursday, May 6, 2015
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

It maybe a 4pm start. But two seems to be the number to watch out for at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.

Rajasthan Royals, the hosts, are second in the points table, while Sunrisers Hyderabad are second from bottom. Royals would be playing their second game at their second home ground for the season. And the Sunrisers have more or less emerged as a two-man team so far.

David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan have driven the Sunrisers' charge with no support from the rest of the batsmen. The presence of two lethal pacers in their squad has created a selection conundrum for Sunrisers, with Trent Boult having emerged as the preferred overseas paceman ahead of Dale Steyn. If the CCI wicket is as green as it was over the weekend, don't be surprised if both make a rare appearance together.

Rajasthan Royals, back to winning ways after beating Delhi Daredevils at the same venue, would be hoping to pocket two points against Sunrisers and almost lock their place in playoffs with two games to spare.

Rajasthan Royals WLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWLW

James Faulkner couldn't translate an exceptional start to the IPL campaign into consistent performances and lost his place in the side as a result. But the allrounder made his presence felt with an excellent spell against Delhi Daredevils over the weekend. He would be keen to continue in the same vein.

India A, Central Zone, Madhya Pradesh. Naman Ojha had scored tons of runs for every team he appeared for since the 2014 IPL. Sunrisers were naturally looking up to him to be the leader among the domestic batsmen. But Ojha has just not prospered. A return of 127 runs from nine innings doesn't reflect well on him as well as the team. Ojha would know time is running out for him.