There is another double header of action in the Indian Premier League on Sunday and it gets underway in Hyderabad where the Sunrisers Hyderabad open up their season against the beaten finalists of a year ago in Rajasthan Royals.
The Royals will be determined to go one better this season while the Sunrisers will be hoping to emulate what their South African branch did in the SA20 and go on and win the tournament. This should be a competitive encounter.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Last season was another one to forget for Sunrisers Hyderabad although with it being their first without Rashid Khan in their attack I guess there was always going to be some kind of transitioning to undergo. This is such a lucrative tournament that teams can’t afford to flounder for multiple seasons without their being changes made so the Sunrisers are under a bit of pressure to deliver a much stronger campaign this time around.
Although the Sunrisers would like to hit the ground running, you would imagine that they will improve as the competition goes on because they are going to be without their South African trio of new captain Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen as they are on international duty. There is a case to be made that Sunrisers might be a batter light without the two South Africans but a blitz from Harry Brook will soon sort that issue out.
Rajasthan Royals
It was a very positive campaign for the Rajasthan Royals last season but it ultimately ended in disappointment and they will want to use the hurt of losing in the final to their advantage and as motivation to go one better this term. When push came to shove last season the Royals couldn’t quite hold themselves together in the really important moment and that is something they will hope to learn from and use that experience positively.
Rajasthan have a couple of bowling issues to rectify heading into the season. Obed McCoy missed the recent West Indies tour of South Africa because of an ongoing knee issue and if he is out he’ll join Prasidh Krishna who will miss this tournament. That leaves a lot on the likes of Trent Boult but what the Royals might lack in bowling resources they make up for with genuine power and depth with the bat and with the Impact Player rule in place this season that might not be a bad thing.
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Key Players
Harry Brook is fast becoming one of the most sought after commodities in world cricket and he will make his IPL debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad here. If he performs like he has in England colours he could be the difference maker.
Another Englishman who is expected to go well in this match is Jos Buttler. The Rajasthan Royals opener was the leading run scorer in the competition last term and he will be eager to get the beaten finalists of 2022 off to a flier.
Betting
One problem that the Rajasthan Royals might have in this match is that the best part of their bowling unit is the spinners but spin isn’t usually king here in Hyderabad so I wonder whether that is going to hamper them. The seamers usually go better here but with the exception of one or two such as Trent Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, even the seam bowlers are gettable here. That makes me think this is going to be a higher scoring match than what might be expected here.
The outfield here in Hyderabad is usually lightning fast and there are a number of clean hitters of the cricket ball on show in this match. The feature of the tournament so far has been the good pitches which have been on show and I don’t see any reason why that is going to change here. There are plenty of batters to find the ropes in this match and I suspect a 37.5 boundary line may not be enough to contain the batters on show. I like the over here.
Tips
Back Over 37.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
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