Sunrisers Hyderabad travel to Jaipur to face Rajasthan Royals in the first of two games to be played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday. The game will be held at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Rahul Dravid
IPLt20.com

Where to Watch Live

Play starts at 11am BST. Live coverage will be available on ITV 4 and ITV 4 HD. Follow the match live, via text updates, on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

The Royals come into this game after a narrow defeat to two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings. Australian Shane Watson powered Rahul Dravid's men to 185/4 with 101 off 61 balls. Watson was helped in the final overs by Stuart Binny's 32 off 22 balls.

The total should have been enough to defend but CSK have an exceptionally strong batting line-up and despite Ajit Chandila picking up the early wicket of Murali Vijay (3), another Australian, Michael Hussey, stepped up with 88 from 51 balls and a partnership of 90 with Suresh Raina (51 from 35 balls) to take CSK to the brink of a win. Even then, though, the Royals fought back with Chandila (1/16) and James Faulkner (3/20) giving the Super Kings a difficult evening. West Indian Dwayne Bravo finally settled the issue with 15 from nine balls, including a six off the third ball of the final over.

Nevertheless, the Royals remain in a strong position, with eight points from seven games; a win will take them above today's opponents, level on points but with a better Net Run Rate.

Meanwhile, debutants Sunrisers Hyderabad continue to impress. Curiously, they too come into this game on the back of a narrow defeat to CSK. This time, it was with two balls remaining!

Hyderabad have had trouble with their batting in this IPL but the return of India senior Shikhar Dawan propelled them to 159/6. Dawan made 63 from 45 balls and only found support in tail-ender Ashish Reddy, who hammered 36 from 16 balls.

Sunrisers' bowling attack, led by South African Dale Steyn and Indians Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra has been among the best this season and they proved that once again, stretching their hosts to the final over before a whirlwind 67 off 37 balls from MS Dhoni secured the win.

The Hyderabad side are third in the table with a two-point advantage over the Royals. However, the latter do have a game in hand and with Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders all only a win away, the race for the top four is heating up very nicely. CSK and Royal Challengers Bangalore are second and first, respectively, with 12 points each.

Dale Steyn

Team Form

Rajasthan Royals

  • Last Five (most recent first): L L W W L
  • Last Result: Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets

Sunrisers Hyderabad

  • Last Five (most recent first): L W W L W
  • Last Result: Chennai Super Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets

Team News

Dishant Yagnik is likely to retain his place despite failing to fire against Chennai. Watson and Ajinkya Rahane will open the batting and be followed by Dravid, Binny and Brad Hodge. Australian pacer Shaun Tait may not start. West Indian Kevon Cooper will likely replace him.

Steyn and Sharma will be aware of the seaming nature of this track. So expect both bowlers to be fired up for this match. Dawan made a sensational knock against CSK and he will look to repeat that against the Royals.

India