IPL 2023, SRH vs RR: Rajasthan Royals desperate to recreate last year's magic against SunRisers Hyderabad
IPL 2023: On Sunday, Match 4 of the tournament will happen between SunRisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad. The visitors are desperate to recreate their magic from IPL 2022.
FollowWith a well-balanced squad at their disposal, former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) would look to recreate this year the same magic which saw it emerge second best in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, as it takes on fellow former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in its campaign opener at the Rajiv Gandi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.
The Royals, led by Sanju Samson, is a side overflowing with performers, with the purple cap (highest wicket-taker) and orange cap (highest run-getter) cornered by their players Yuzvendra Chahal and Jos Buttler -- last season. Over the years, the Royals have built the reputation of being gritty opponents that do not surrender an inch of their territory.
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With two of India's best spinners in Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin and Australian tweaker Adam Zampa in the side, the 2008 IPL winner has perhaps the best slow bowlers in the league. SRH's batting will have to guard against the wily leg-spinner Chahal, who had emerged as the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2022 with 27 scalps.
On the other hand, Ashwin would be buoyed by his showing in the recent Border-Gavaskar Test series, where he grabbed 25 wickets in eight innings, though he is on to a different format. If its spin-bowling department is the envy of every other side in the IPL, Royals' batting, led by Buttler, can give any franchise a complex, given the way the England stalwart went about decimating every bowling attack last year to accumulate a mind-boggling 863 runs.
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With England's top-order batter Joe Root a part of its squad, along with skipper Samson and pinch-hitters Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder, the Royals' batting also wears a near-invincible look. SRH, on the other hand, still look like a side trying to find its feet after debacles in the two previous editions of the IPL. While it finished eighth and last in 2021 in a season marred by captaincy woes involving David Warner, IPL 2022 didn't change its fortunes much, with the side again finishing eighth among ten teams under new skipper Kane Williamson.
South African opener Aiden Markram has been given the captaincy role this year. However, India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the side against the Royals as the designated captain will arrive on April 3 after playing a two-match One-Day International (ODI) series against the Netherlands. With Mayank Agarwal failing to impress with the bat while leading the Rest of India in the Irani Cup last month against Madhya Pradesh, SRH's top order needs to be better. However, it has wicketkeeper-batter Glenn Phillips -- one of New Zealand's mainstays in the run-up to the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup Final -- to provide some solidity to the middle order.
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SRH's strength lies in their pace bowling line-up comprising Umran Malik, the experienced Bhuvneshwar and South African quick Marco Jansen. However, the latter will also not be available for the opening match. The Royals are no pushovers in the pace bowling department either, having New Zealand quick Trent Boult, West Indian Obed McCoy and Navdeep Saini, among others, in their ranks.
Bhuvneshwar has been with SRH since its inception in 2013 and knows how the team functions. Having led the side on seven occasions, he knows the home ground like the back of his hand and the knowledge could come in handy on Sunday.
Squads:
SRH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Harry Brook, Mayank Dagar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Tyagi, Heinrich Klaasen, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Glenn Phillips, Adil Rashid, Sanvir Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Umran Malik, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Washington Sundar and Upendra Yadav.
RR: Sanju Samson (c), Abdul Basith, Murugan Ashwin, Ravichandran Ashwin, KM Asif, Trent Boult, Jos Buttler, KC Cariappa, Yuzvendra Chahal, Donovan Ferreira, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Obed McCoy, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Kunal Singh Rathore, Joe Root, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldeep Sen, Akash Vasisht, Kuldip Yadav and Adam Zampa.
Match details
Date and day: April 2, 2023 (Sunday)
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Time: 3.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema
(With inputs from PTI)
