Their morale high after beating Indian Premier League (IPL) winners, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals are hoping to consolidate their position when they take on Highveld Lions in a group A league match of the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) tournament on Wednesday.
The Royals have made the Sawai Man Singh stadium a fortress, stretching their winning streak to nine consecutive matches from IPL-6.
“The wicket here suits us because we have batsmen who are good at making shots and bowlers who know the right areas to bowl on,” Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Rahul Dravid had said recently.
Having put behind the spot-fixing controversy that hounded them in IPL 6, the hosts have gained confidence which makes them slight favourites against the South African outfit on Wednesday.
The visitors were kept waiting in the Dressing Room as their match against Perth Scorchers was washed off due to heavy rains in Ahmadabad.
Lions captain Alviro Petersen had just enough time to win the toss and elect to bowl against Perth Scorchers before the persistent deluge arrived to wipe out any chance of play.
The visitors practiced hard for a week to get used to the conditions and would be eager to test their mettle against the inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul Dravid`s men hardly put a foot wrong against Mumbai and they seem to have the resources to counter the Lions as well.
Most of their batsmen – especially Sanju Samson, who struck a fine fifty and was associated in a mature match winning partnership with Ajinkya Rahane – are in fine form.
Shane Watson too carried his good form of Ashes series and was impressive, as was Stuart Binny who helped the hosts to a comfortable seven-wicket victory.
The likes of Brad Hodge, Ashok Menaria, and Kevon Cooper have performed their roles to perfection.
Vikramjeet Malik was the surprise against Mumbai while seasoned campaigner James Faulkner is more than a handful.
The hosts might be tempted to play youngster Harmeet Singh or veteran Praveen Tambe keeping in view the visitors lack exposure to such conditions.
Royals, having beaten MI, are on four points with three games in hand.
