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Follow UsSunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan kick start their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaigns at the MCA Stadium, Pune later today (March 29).
Both teams finished in the last two spots last season and would surely not want a repeat of it. SRH came off worse last year – they sacked and dropped their skipper David Warner in the middle of the season – and eventually went on to win just three of their 14 matches.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes SRH will be motivated to improve at the back of a poor season last year.
“Kane Williamson is an experienced leader and needs to get grips with this team early on. Coming off a poor IPL last year, SRH will be motivated to improve,” Smith said on Cricket.com.
Sticking with Williamson, Smith believes that he is more suited to bat at No. 3 than opening the innings. Williamson has opened just five times in the IPL, scoring 155 runs at a strike-rate of 143.5. At three, however, he has batted on 40 occasions, and scored 1,268 runs, striking at 128.2, averaging close to 40.
“I like Kane Williamson at three because he provides a solid look to the line-up. Give Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi the freedom in the powerplay to go out and play their game,” Smith, who played for RR between 2008 and 2010 said.
“Then support it with a bit more experience in the middle-order with Williamson, Markram and Nicholas Pooran it just sures up that middle-order for them if those guys with international experience can find form. That's why I would leave Williamson at three.”
Smith also reckons RR have a balance issue and need to sort that out before it’s too late.
“They have got one or two balance issues currently. Jimmy Neesham potentially is your third seamer is a high-risk approach. Depending on what the wicket looks like, will they pick an extra seamer?
“Their best team definitely has Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal playing. But they will have to judge in terms of the surface and see if they need an extra seamer there.
“I guess when you compare both the teams (there are) a few questions in the batting line-ups. Jos Buttler and Kane Williamson key performers for both teams. Who can bat well around them?
“Sanju Samson, Markram, Tripathi can they perform supporting roles and get going early on in the tournament. When I look at the bowling attacks, I think the Royals have more wicket-taking options.”
Pune will host an IPL match for the first time this season and Smith reckons the track will offer good pace and bounce especially in the early stages of the tournament.
“When I think back to when Chennai moved to Pune as their home ground, it's a pitch that had a little bit more bounce in it. Since there is so much cricket that is going to be played on these pitches I always expect a little bit more grass at the start of the season to protect them a little bit,” Smith, a veteran of 117 Tests, 197 ODIs and 33 T20Is said.
“Little bit more pace, little bit more bounce. It is a wide open field in Pune and the wind does seem to come through there. A little bit more space to work with, a bit more challenge to get around in the field to protect the ones and the twos. I still expect it to have decent pace and carry.”
