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The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad's Uppal will host one of the most exciting contests of IPL 2024 on Thursday between home side SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The bigger superstars are, obviously, in their batting departments. But in an IPL of bat vs bat, it's the shrewd and astutely managed bowling sides that have won most games. While the Orange Army boasts one of the most experienced pace batteries, the Royals have one of the best spin duos in their ranks.
It's hard to pick which one will come on top but below, we have predicted three bowlers who can pick the most wickets to wrest the advantage for their teams:
#3 Pat Cummins
SRH wouldn't have won the five games so far in IPL 2024 if it wasn't for Pat Cummins. Unlike the other Australian big-money signing, Mitchell Starc, Cummins has been able to justify his price tag somewhat by not only his proactive captaincy but also by leading SRH's charge with the ball on the flattest of tracks.
He has four wickets from three matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium this season, all big names at crucial stages - Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Dinesh Karthik. Others can be inconsistent on flat tracks but Cummins' elite execution of well-planned set-ups makes him lethal and one of the best.
His best figures in the IPL - 4/34 - also came against RR in 2020 and he'd look to create a repeat of that on Thursday.
#2 Yuzvendra Chahal
Comebacks to the Indian team for a player older than 30 are rare. A comeback straight to a T20 World Cup is even rarer. That tells you all you need to know about how good Yuzvendra Chahal's IPL 2024 has been, irrespective of what people say.
He's currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, has shown clear improvements in his courage and speed variations since his slump for India, and played a crucial role in RR's top-of-the-table success.
The last time he played against SRH in Uppal, Chahal returned one of his best IPL figures of 4/17. Bowling to Travis Head, Aiden Markram, and Heinrich Klaasen is his litmus test and RR would back him to come through with flying colors.
#1 T Natarajan
In the form T Natarajan is in, it's hard to look past him for picking the probable highest wicket-taker in this game. The left-arm seamer is yet to go through an IPL 2024 match without picking a wicket and has 13 scalps in seven games at an average of 19.38.
His best spell of the season - 4/19 - came against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, one of the flattest tracks at the tournament. SRH's home ground has been something similar and Natarajan, who has done well against RR over the years, would have a good chance to eke out his purple patch.
You can't ignore the extra motivation of performing after missing out on the 2024 T20 World Cup squad either. RR's batting line-up, especially the lower order, would have its task cut out against Tamil Nadu's best.
