India, May 27 -- Wednesday night in New Chandigarh is where one of these seasons ends. Both teams arrive having been defined by their opening batter. Both openers have posted over 560 runs this season at strike rates above 200. The Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals essentially comes down to one question: Does Vaibhav Sooryavanshi winning the powerplay battle against Abhishek Sharma actually matter?

The evidence from their two league meetings suggests it does not - and that is where SRH's structural edge lives.

The first meeting, April 13 in Hyderabad, was straightforward. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed for a golden duck. Abhishek lasted one ball. Both openers contributed nothing. SRH won by 57 runs on the b...