The first game of Sunday’s blockbuster with see Rajasthan Royals lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams have had mixed fortunes in IPL 2020 so far and will hope to turn the tables soon.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are finally getting their touch back – their regular template. The openers are finally scoring the bulk of the runs backed by the bowlers. Although they lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar, others have managed to fill in the void. Rashid Khan has got better with each game and with the wickets slowing down, he will be a tricky customer.

David Warner & Co will want to execute their plans perfectly and find a way to negate Ben Stokes, who in all likelihood will make his IPL 2020 debut today. The English all-rounder has completed his quarantine and Rajasthan Royals will hope him to come as a saviour.

Sanju8 Samson hasn’t fired after a blistering start followed by Steve Smith’s poor returns. Jos Buttler has played one big knock and young Yashasvi Jaiswal is yet to fire. Rajasthan Royals will have plenty on their table to solve as they look to keep their hopes alive in IPL 2020.

IPL 2020: Match 26 – Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Dubai International Stadium on October 11 from 3:30 PM IST

Pitch Conditions

Teams batting first have won the most of the game here in Dubai and the trend is likely to continue. Considering the surface has shown a tendency to get slower in the second half of the innings, the captain who wins the toss would want to put runs on the board.

Predicted Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed

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Rajasthan Royals:  Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler (WK), Steve Smith (C), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Aaron/Jaydev Unadkat

Match Prediction – Who will win the match?

Nothing much to separate much between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in head-to-head encounters. Hyderabad have won six in comparisons with Rajasthan’s five wins in 11 encounters.

Rajasthan Royals, who are on a four-match losing streak will play out of their skins and with Ben Stokes addition, they are firm favourites to win the match.