The opening round of fixtures in the new IPL season takes place on Monday and at the end of it all eight Indian Premier League sides will have begun their campaigns. The match in question sees two former champions collide when the Sunrisers Hyderabad host the returning Rajasthan Royals.
There are plenty of matches left for both franchises after this one but with the recent turmoil involving the Australian players which has affected both sides I’m sure they will both be eager to get off to a good start to be able to focus on the cricket without outside noises growing stronger.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
It was a strange defence of their title for the Sunrisers Hyderabad last season. I say that because they had the leading run scorer in the competition and the top bowler but they never really threatened to make the final so they will be out for a bit of redemption this season. The ball tampering scandal has hit them hard with captain David Warner banned for this campaign.
That means that Kane Williamson takes over the reins and he will skipper a side that has undergone a few changes from the one that won this title so they will need to gel quickly. They still have the purple cap winner of the last two seasons in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and he along with Rashid Khan will be out to make the Sunrisers hard to beat.
Rajasthan Royals
The first winners of the IPL are back this season after the Rajasthan Royals have completed their ban from the tournament and gone is the side who rely on underrated and unknown local talent. They have spent a huge part of their budget on star personnel and that outlay will be expected to deliver a real tilt at the title this season.
The Royals have also been caught up in the Australian scandal but I’m not convinced it hasn’t done them a favour as it now means they have an Indian captain and I prefer that as it offers up a lot more variety of options in terms of which overseas players to pick. The Royals look to have a very nicely balanced squad with all bases covered for most grounds.
Team News
Kane Williamson will lead the Sunrisers which means that they can only have three more overseas players. Rashid Khan will definitely be one while Alex Hales replaced Dave Warner in the squad so he could well be another. Mohammad Nabi and Shakib-al-Hasan could be fighting for one spot.
Rajasthan Royals will have Ajinkya Rahane leading them now which means they can play the English trio of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer and still have space for another overseas player. That is likely to be D’Arcy Short.
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Betting
The Sunrisers Hyderabad are the favourites for this match but I like the options and the class of the Rajasthan Royals. To be fair the Royals need to get off to a fast start given the money they have spent on some big names in the auction and they really need to deliver from the start.
I think both these sides have solid bowling attacks so the difference between the two might well be the depth, quality and the power that the Rajasthan Royals have with the bat. This should be a very good contest but to me the value lies with the visitors.
Tips
Back Rajasthan Royals to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Boylesports
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