Royals, Hyderabad target victory

HYDERABAD: A well-balanced squad at its disposal, Rajasthan Royals would look to recreate this year the same magic which saw it emerge second best in IPL 2022, as it takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad in its campaign opener here on Sunday.

The Royals, led by Sanju Samson, is a side overflowing with performers, with both the purple cap (highest wicket-taker) and orange cap (highest run-getter) being cornered by its players -- Yuzvendra Chahal and Jos Buttler -- last season.

Over the years, the Royals has built the reputation of being gritty opponent that do not surrender an inch of its territory.

With the likes of two of India’s best spinners in Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin as well as Australian tweaker Adam Zampa in the side, the 2008 IPL winner has perhaps the best slow bowlers in the league.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting will have to guard against the wily leg-spinner Chahal, who had emerged the highest wicket-take in IPL 2022 with 27 scalps.

Ashwin, on the other hand, 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.

With England’s top-order batter Joe Root too a part of its squad, along with skipper Samson and pinch-hitters Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder, Royals’ batting too wears a near-invincible look.

SRH, on the other hand, still looks 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 10 teams under new skipper Kane Williamson.

This year, South African opener Aiden Markram has been given the captaincy role, though 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 ODI series against the Netherlands.

With Mayank Agarwal failing to impress with the bat while leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup last month against Madhya Pradesh, SRH’s top order looks shaky, though it has wicketkeeper-batter Glenn Phillips -- one of New Zealand’s mainstays in the run up to the 2021 T20 World Cup final -- to provide some solidity to the middle order.

SRH’s strength lies in its pace bowling line-up comprising Umran Malik, the experienced Bhuvneshwar and South African quick Marco Jansen, though the latter will also not be available for the opening match.