Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ended last season as the runner-up. It could (and should) have been Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their place, playing the final. After all, how can a team with as many as four quicks in their XI expect to win in Chennai? They could not possibly have hoped for their part-time spinners to exploit Chepauk, could they? Turns out, they could – and thats how RR were robbed of a place in the final.
But sidekicks doing the main job was nowhere near the highlight of SRH’s IPL season the previous year. Their destructive batting order instilled fear even in the most daring of ther opponents. Yet, they were outdone by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in what turned out to be a one-sided final. Will their blistering batting lineup be enough to go one step further this time? It’s still early days to predict that but a victory as hosts in their opening game of the season would most definitely be a step in the right direction.
Team Overview:
It’s hard to say whether the defeat in the second qualifier turned them to this, but RR overhauled their entire bowling attack. By the looks of it, they have not done too great of a job. Their frontline spin attack is made entirely of overseas players, which is not a sane choice in a league that has hardly ever seen the mentioned kind, barring of course a handful, doing any damage.
On top of that, their top five batters are certainly going to be all-Indian, which, if you have followed the IPL enough, is not the best way if you are looking to end up among the big guys. Sanju Samson, as the cherry on the cake, has been rested from his captaincy and wicket-keeping duties with a finger injury. If they want to avoid being thrown to the wolves, they’ll need a great deal of things to go their way.
SRH, on the other hand, look readdy for another season full of run galore. If any team is going to get past 300, it has to be them. Their batting lineup is as destructive as it gets, and they have made no effort to gatekeep that, with their blistering outings last season. It’s safe to say they would not dare breaking up their lethal Travishek duo, not even to accommodate someone like Ishan Kishan. Despite not having a good record of batting at the first fall, Kishan is very likely to be slotted in at that position.
Their batting depth was at the bottom of many of their problems last year. With Aniket Verma and Abhinav Manohar likely propping up the late middle order, they have tried to address this problem, at least partly. Mohammad Shami’s presence will bolster their pace attack, which will look to go lighter on leaking runs this year.
Head-to-Head Record:
SRH have been the better side when placed next to RR, having won 11 of the 20 contests between both teams.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Hyderabad is where India recorded T20I cricket’s highest total against a full-member nation last October. It also was the ground with the highest run-scoring average in the last IPL season. So, expect the same for both teams in this game. There is also no prediction of rain, which will only make things better for the batters.
Prediction:
There is a lot still unanswered for RR and it will only make getting them easier for SRH at their home ground.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
