SRH to host RR in their IPL 2025 opener: Preview
What's the story
The second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will see a thrilling encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The match will be played on March 23 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
SRH, who had a strong last season reaching the finals but falling short against Kolkata Knight Riders, will be eager to win their second title.
Here is the match preview.
Details
Streaming and pitch details
The pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is expected to be favor batters. Spinners might have a role to play in the middle overs.
Out of 77 IPL matches played at this venue, teams batting first have won 34 times while chasing teams have emerged victorious on 42 occasions, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Star Sports will telecast the match, fans can also live-stream it on the JioHotstar app or website (3:30pm IST).
Previous season
Season 2024: A look back
Last year, both teams saw their highs and lows. SRH played an aggressive brand of cricket, reaching the finals but losing to KKR.
On the other hand, RR had a good start but struggled toward the end of IPL 2024. Their campaign ended with a defeat against SRH in the second Qualifier.
This time, they are eager to make a strong comeback from the word go.
Factors
Riyan Parag to lead RR
The next match promises some exciting player matchups.
RR will be keen to dismiss Travis Head early, considering his phenomenal form last season when he scored 567 runs at a strike rate of over 190.
Meanwhile, Riyan Parag will lead RR in their first three matches as regular skipper Sanju Samson is not entirely fit.
The latter might however play as an Impact Player.
H2H
Here is the head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, the two sides have met in 20 IPL matches as of now. SRH have a slight edge with 11 wins, while RR own nine wins.
Notably, SRH won both encounters between the two sides in IPL 2024, including one in Qualifier 2.
At home, the Orange Army have won four of their five clashes against the Men in Pink.
XIs
Here are the probable XIs
SRH (Probable XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Abhinav Manohar, Wiaan Mulder, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar.
RR (Probable XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande.
Impact players: Sanju Samson and Sachin Baby.