Action never ceases in the IPL as on the field as well as off the field activity has picked up with the fifth season drawing towards its fad end. Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, will have other thoughts on mind when they square up against Deccan Chargers on Friday.
Rajasthan Royals, the winners of the inaugural season, still stand a chance to qualify for the playoffs having scored 14 points from as many matches so far. Their task is not easy as they need to win both their remaining matches to be in contention.
Deccan Chargers, on the other hand, have been woefully out of touch and were eliminated long ago, having registered only five points so far.
For the Rajasthan Royals, their last match ended in a much-needed victory against Pune Warriors. Royals scored 170 before winning the match by 45 runs. A similar clinical performance will be required off them on Friday.
Ajinkya Rahane, the team’s highest run-getter, will be the key man with the bat together with Shane Watson who has made a reasonable impact since arriving midway through the season. Captain Rahul Dravid himself has had a slightly lean run but the team overall needs to continue firing.
The bowling department boasts of Shaun Tait while Ajit Chandila was the surprise package in the last match as he picked up four wickets including a hat-trick.
For the Deccan Chargers, the end of the season is just not coming soon enough for them. Yet again they lost a match they had seemingly pocketed when Kings XI Punjab chased the 191-run target off the final ball of the match.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White have been the mainstays with the bat but the bowlers have repeatedly let them down. TP Sudhindra, whose name appears in the spot-fixing investigation, will be sidelined due to suspension as Dale Steyn hopes to get his team to do some face-saving.
The match will be played in Hyderabad, the home ground for Deccan Chargers. They lost a last-over thriller the last time these two sides met.