Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will play the second game of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on 23rd March at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Match Preview:
Both SRH and RR will kickstart their IPL 2025 campaign with this game. Talking about SRH, they retained their main-core of Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, and Abhishek Sharma. Moreover, they have added Ishan Kishan as well, who further bolster the batting strength of Hyderabad.
And how can one forget Nitish Kumar Reddy? Who was a good rare found in IPL 2024 and recently made his debut against Australia and scored a hundred? He surely will be one of key players in the SRH lineup. His decent pace is a plus option as well.
Pat Cummins, who missed out on the Champions Trophy due to injury, will be back in action leading the Sunrisers in the IPL 2025 as well.
Last year, both Hasaranga and Farooqi were the part of the Sunrisers but Hasaranga pulled out due to injury while Farooqi did not get any game. Now, they both are part of the Royals.
However, Adam Zampa will be playing for Sunrisers who was part of Royals last year but had to pull out because of injury.
SRH ended the last year as the runners-up but this time with their strong batting and bowling lineup, the side will look up to clinch their second title.
Talking about Rajasthan Royals, they ended at 3rd position in last year’s IPL and it was Sunrisers who ended their IPL dreams in an eliminator.
Royals, like Hyderabad, have retained their main-core Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal. Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Sandeep Sharma).
However, Samson will start the tournament as an impact batter due to his injury and for this reason, Parag will be leading the side this season.
Jaiswal will be a player to watch out for Royals as he 625 runs at a strike rate of 163.61 in the last edition of the tournament.
Probable Playing XI:
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Abhinav Manohar, Wiaan Mulder, Pat Cummins (C), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami and Rahul Chahar.
Rajasthan Royals
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (C), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande.
Pitch and weather report:
Hyderabad’s pitch proved to be a batting paradise last year, with an average run rate of 10.54, the second-highest among 13 grounds.
SRH’s aggressive batting approach, as seen in their remarkable 10-over chase of 166 against LSG, rendered the pitch conditions irrelevant.
With scorching heat and no rain forecasted for Sunday’s match, expect another high-scoring affair with the ball flying all around the ground.
Head-to-head record:
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have clashed 20 times in the IPL, with Hyderabad holding a slight edge, having won 11 matches, while Rajasthan has emerged victorious on 9 occasions.
Prediction:
Given SRH’s strong batting lineup and good bowling lineup, they are expected to win this upcoming encounter.
Where to Watch:
Pakistan: Tapmad
India: JioStar application
Others: CricHD
