1. Overview
SRH and RR will be playing their first match against each other. Both the sides have won the trophy once each, both under an Australian Captain. Both are known to have overseas captains since their first IPL. But finally, RR have found solace in Sanju Samson, who has done well in the last 2 seasons while SRH have opted for new captain who is again not from India. The first match of the first Sunday of this season is going to be exciting.
2. Team Previews:
Head-to-Head Record: 16 Matches, 8 matches won by each.
Position in 2022: RR – Finalist, SRH – 8th Position
Sunrisers Hyderabad: After 2 underwhelming seasons, SRH will be hoping to come strong this season with their 3rd captain in 3 seasons, after David Warner and Kane Williamson. With the interesting additions like Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook to the side, their batting looks much stable this season. Further, they have a history of great pacers and this season is no different. But their spin looks weak though. Further, they will play their opening match without 3 South African Players - Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Heinrich Klaasen, who will be their national duty.
Rajasthan Royals: They had a great season last year as they made to the IPL finals after 14 long years but unfortunately failed to get the trophy for the second time. With likes of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer, their batting already has enough firepower and this year they have added Joe Root who can anchor the innings and his presence would make his partner have the license to attack from the other end. Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin form a great spin bowling duo and Trent Boult has always provided great start with the ball. But Prasidh Krishna’s injury has left a hole that they have tried to fill with Sandeep Sharma, who would be keen to do well against his former IPL team.
3. Probable Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips (WK), Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (C), Umran Malik, T Natarajan, Kartik Tyagi. (Impact Players - Mayank Markande, Adil Rashid)
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C) (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer/Joe Root, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen. (Impact Players - Akash Vasisht, Sandeep Sharma)
4. Interesting Facts:
It’s a known fact that Rajasthan Royal lifted the IPL Trophy in the inaugural season, but what's astonishing is the fact that they are the only side among the 7 surviving teams from the inaugural season, not to reach 100 IPL Wins. However, with 96 wins (including 2 in Super Overs) they can reach the milestone this season
On this day 12 years ago, India won their 2nd World Cup and become the first side to win the Trophy at home.
While Sri Lankan players are now rare in the last few seasons, the support staff of both these sides have lot of Sri Lankan legends, who were all part of the 2011 World Cup Final, Kumar Sangakkara (RR Head Coach), Lasith Malinga (RR Fast Bowling Coach) and Muttiah Muralitharan (SRH spin bowling coach)
Jos Buttler(2304) needs 69 Runs to surpass Shane Watson (2372) to become the Highest Scoring Overseas Batsmen for RR.
With Dwayne Bravo’s (183) Retirement from IPL following the last season, RR’s Spin Bowling Duo - Yuzvendra Chahal (166) and Ravichandran Ashwin (157) are the Top 2 wicket takers in IPL among all the active players. If Chahal picks 18 more wickets, he would take the top spot in the List of Most Wickets of All Time in IPL.
The 3rd Highest Wicket Taken among all the active players, however, is playing for SRH – Bhuvneshwar Kumar (154). With this the Top 3 Most Wicket Takers among the active players will be in action this match.
Yuzvendra Chahal (299) is also just a wicket away from completing 300 Wickets in T20s.
5. Weather and Pitch Report:
Since it is afternoon match, the temperature is expected to be in the vicinity of 36-40 in the beginning. It might get cooler in the evening though
The pitch will be flat helping the batsmen to score easily, spinners might dominate though. Par Score should be anything in the range of 170-180. Toss winning side will be keen on chasing
6. Match Details:
Time: 3:30 PM
Date: 2nd April 2023
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Live Streaming: Star Sports 1 and Jio Cinema
7. Dream XI:
