Pune Warriors India (PWI) would host Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a match which holds great importance for both the teams at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune. Rajasthan Royals would hope to continue their winning momentum whereas Warriors would look to put an end to their miseries and pick up a win after five defeats.

After five defeats in a row they would be desperate to win this match and set their campaign on right track and give them an outside chance to qualify for the play-offs which already looks very grim. RR on the other hand are at a little better position and if they continue winning they have all the chances of ending at top four after league matches but if they lose things might turn ugly for them. Lot is at stake and both the teams would go all guns out.

Here are some of the players who would be in thick of action and the result of the match is likely to revolve around how they perform:

Rajasthan Royals:

Rahul Dravid: Rahul Dravid has been playing brilliantly throughout the tournament. He might not have the best of the strike rates but it is still over 100. He is playing the role of an anchor which allows the other batsmen to go for their shots. He has got steady starts for the team and his partnership at the top of the order with Rahane is the perhaps the best in this year’s IPL.

Ajinkya Rahane: Second on the list of run getters in this year’s IPL, he has been on fire throughout the tournament. He goes for the kill right from the word go and unnerves the bowlers early on. He is a player Sourav Ganguly would definitely be wary about and would have a strong strategy in place for him.

Johan Botha: Captain of the South African T20 side, Botha is a very efficient cricketer. He can bowl at any stage of the match and can turn the match on his head. Botha bowls with a lot of variations and is very hard to get away. Botha is a very important cricketer in the Royals armory.

Shaun Tait: Any bowler who can bowls at the speed of 150 km is dangerous in this format, Tait can do exactly that. Tait can be wayward at times, but when he is in rhythm he can dismantle any batting unit like the way he did in their earlier match. He can be very dangerous with his accurate Yorkers and some killer bouncers.

Pune Warriors India

Sourav Ganguly: He has been impressive with his captaincy and his aura has done world of wonder to his team. But his performance has been quite on and off and he would look for consistency. Considering his resiliency, he would be itching to break free after losing out the last match and Dravid would be wary of that. He is the player to watch and if he gets going, things can get very difficult for RR.

Steve Smith: He can wreck havoc and has been playing brilliantly. This young lad from Australia has been outstanding with the bat for the Warriors and they would want him to fire today in order to bring their campaign back on track. He is electric in the field as it was seen in their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Angelo Mathews: He has been bowling well and showed some very good skills and changed the pace beautifully. Warriors will once again be hoping that this talented cricketer from Sri Lanka plays up to his potential in this match.

Alfonso Thomas: Provided he is played in the match, he can do wonders for his side. He impressed everyone with his performance against Delhi Daredevils. He sure has lot of talents and his team can bank on him.

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury

Indian Sports News