Rajasthan Royals are in a bit of a slump right now. After a string of victories to start their campaign, they have been stumbling from one defeat to another. Their top batsmen like Steve Smith, Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler are not able to get among the runs consistently and that's just part of the problem.
However, if there is one man who can lift the spirits, boost morale and give them hope, it is Ben Stokes. The all-rounder is available for selection after he completed his six-day quarantine and given the team's woes, the chances of Smith slotting him right into the team against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday is high.
On his day, Stokes can do almost anything on a cricket field and that gives a blunt looking Royals team a boost in all the departments - batting, bowling and fielding.
The big question though is on whether Stokes can come off the blocks right away and change the fortunes of Royals to arrest the slide. Even some of the best players have taken time to adjust and find their form in this year's Indian Premier League.
That said, to simply have Stokes around would be a big boost for the whole team and they would look to break their four-match losing streak when they take on Sunrisers. While the spotlight would be on the English cricketer, the likes of Smith, Samson and Buttler would have to come good with the bat.
They'll also have to take a call on whether to persist with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order or give the veteran Robin Uthappa a chance.
Meanwhile, their Sunday's opponents would be high on confidence after a morale-boosting win against Kings XI Punjab in their last match. The biggest takeaway from that game for Sunrisers was the form of their opening batsmen.
Jonny Bairstow was at his menacing best again while Warner is finding form after his second successive fifty. The bowlers also did a commendable job despite the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, there were some glaring weaknesses in their performance that day.
While the openers gave them a brilliant start, the middle order was not as solid with the bat and slowed down the scoring as wickets kept tumbling. The lack of an experienced fifth bowler was also exposed as youngsters Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma were taken to the cleaners by Nicholas Pooran.
If it wasn't for Rashid Khan and the rest of the experienced bowlers, the contest would have been a lot tighter than the 69-run win they managed to achieve in the end. All said, the win put their campaign back on track and they'd be looking to make the momentum count while Royals would be looking to stop the rut and get back to winning ways.