🏏 IPL 2024 ~ Match N50 SRH vs RR at Hyderabad @7.30 PM IST🏏

🏏 IPL 2024 ~ Match N 50 

SRH vs RR at Hyderabad

@7.30 PM IST🏏

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 2 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. SRH, having won five out of nine matches, are currently at number five on the points table. They have won three out of their last five matches

RR have won eight of their nine matches and are sitting pretty on top of the points table. Rajasthan have won four out of their last five matches.

Hyderabad and Rajasthan have played 18 IPL matches against each other so far. SRH have won nine, and so have RR. The Sunrisers’ highest total against RR so far is 217. Rajasthan’s highest total against SRH is 220.

[Tag Credit: Sutapasima]

Big picture - Best bowling team vs best batting team

Rajasthan Royals have given up only one 200-plus total in a season where such totals are being scored every other day. Sunrisers Hyderabad have set and then reset the record for the highest total in IPL history. This contest between the best bowling side of the IPL and the best batting side has been a long time coming.

With Trent Boult and his penchant for first over wickets, Royals are one of two teams to average under 30 in the powerplay (the other is Gujarat Titans). They're also allowing runs at a mere 8 an over. Could they keep that up when they face up to Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen at a ground where six-hitting has been so common there's been one every two overs? (11.1 per innings in IPL 2024)

Team news and impact player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers might consider bringing back their legspinner Mayank Markande in place of fingerspinner Shahbaz Ahmed. They might use them both given the many right-hand batters in the Royals line-up, but this year, spinners (8.3 balls per six) have been easier to hit out of the park in Hyderabad than the quicks (11.9). Also, Sanju Samson is the best spin six-hitter (39) since IPL 2022. Jos Buttler (31) is fourth on the list. T Natarajan is likely to continue as Impact Player, subbing in and out for a batter, like Anmolpreet Singh.

Probable XII: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Pat Cummins (capt), 8 Mayank Markande/Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 T Natarajan, 12 Anmolpreet Singh

Rajasthan Royals

The strength that they have in the bowling does come at the cost of batting depth. It only goes down till No. 7, with R Ashwin as the floater in the line-up, lengthening it when needed. Fortunately, their openers alone are capable of playing the whole 20 overs and with Samson and Riyan Parag also in form, they haven't really needed lower-order support. Yuzvendra Chahal is their usual Impact Sub.

Probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal

In the spotlight - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shimron Hetmyer

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was in the India squad for the last T20 World Cup. That was when Jasprit Bumrah was unavailable and the team was looking for specialists with the experience of having been there and done that. Now, he's slipped way down the ladder, and even at his franchise team he's not having a whole lot of luck. Bhuvneshwar has an economy rate of 10.18 and an average of 67.2. But he might still be crucial for Sunrisers on Thursday because he has a good head-to-head against Buttler: six dismissals in 91 balls for only 104 runs.

Shimron Hetmyer has faced only 36 balls all season. That's actually a sign of things going right for the Royals. Three of his team-mates above him have scored more than 300 runs which means he's had less of an opportunity to get out there and make an impact. That doesn't mean he's been lacking. Hetmyer has 70 runs in those 36 balls with five fours and five sixes. He's an ace finisher.

Stats that matter

• A measure of the way Samson has matured is how he is pacing his innings. Earlier it seemed like he would get in a rut and then play a big shot to get out of it and it wouldn't work. For example, in IPL 2022, he was dismissed nine times between overs 7 to 10. In IPL 2024, he is yet to be dismissed in this period while scoring at a strike rate of 139. A part of this might be the improvement in his play against spin. In IPL 2022, 36% of the balls he faced against them became dots. In IPL 2024, that figure is down at 19%. 
• Chahal has a great record against SRH with 28 wickets in 19 innings and an average of 18.9, his second lowest for an IPL side behind funnily enough his current team. It is therefore crucial that SRH find a way to unleash Heinrich Klaasen upon him. Their T20 head-to-head reads 93 runs, 41 balls and three dismissals. 
• Head and Abhishek have been an excellent combo for Sunrisers, one a pace-hitter, the other a spin-hitter. Their complementing each other might come in handy in this contest as well because Head has good T20 history with Boult (36 runs in 17 balls) and Abhishek doesn't (11 runs in 18 balls with one dismissal)
• The investment both franchises have made in their youth is paying off. Royals have developed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Parag into IPL stars. Both batters are striking at over 154, with Parag already scoring more runs this year than he had in the previous two combined. SRH invested INR 6.5 crore to acquire Abhishek in the 2022 auction and he's grown into a high-impact top-order player, hitting more sixes than fours this season.

Thanks for the thread and for tagging me Parm.  

Best wishes to both the teams, a bit more for the RR team.

Pitch and conditions

The average first innings total in Hyderabad in IPL 2024 is 216. Tells you all you need to know.

SRH vs RR: Top five player battles to watch out for

1. Jos Buttler vs Pat Cummins

The SRH vs RR clash will bring a great battle between two overseas superstars. This will be between Jos Buttler and Pat Cummins. These two have crossed paths many times, and Cummins has a better record in international cricket, but in the IPL, Buttler has an edge. Cummins has dismissed Buttler nine times at the international level. In the IPL, Buttler has scored 43 runs off 24 balls from him and gotten out only once.

2. Sanju Samson vs T Natarajan

Sanju Samson has been in red-hot form this season and has taken his team to winning positions in many games. He will be a big wicket in the coming game, but he has found it tough sometimes while facing T Natarajan. Samson has faced 37 balls from him, scored 40 runs at a strike rate of 108.1 in the IPL, and gotten out once. Hence, this will be an important battle in the middle and final overs.

3. Travis Head vs Trent Boult

Travis Head will be facing the first ball of the game, and he will be up against Trent Boult. This will be a great battle for the fans. Head will carry on with his aggressive approach and will target Boult. But the Kiwi pacer has dismissed most batters in the first over, and that’s what he will look to do. This will be the first time that these two will be up against each other in the IPL, but Boult has dismissed Head three times at the international level.

4. Heinrich Klaasen vs Yuzvendra Chahal

Heinrich Klaasen will come out to bat in the middle overs, and if he stays on the crease, he can take the score to something really big. He is very good at both spin and pace. However, Yuzvendra Chahal will be one big hurdle to cross. Chahal has dismissed him three times at the international level. In the IPL, he has dismissed Klaasen once in seven balls already.

5. Abhishek Sharma vs Ravichandran Ashwin

Abhishek Sharma is a brilliant player of spin bowling and likes to charge the spinners to hit big sixes. Undoubtedly, he will be looking to do the same in the upcoming SRH vs RR clash. But Ravichandran Ashwin will not be an easy spinner to face. Ashwin has loads of experience and bowls smartly. He has bowled 12 balls to Abhishek in the IPL and has dismissed him once.

Today’s Match Prediction: Rajasthan Royals to win the match

Scenario 1  

Rajasthan Royals win the toss and bat

Power Play score – 65-75

First Innings Score - 210-220

Rajasthan Royals win the match

Scenario 2

Sunrisers Hyderabad win the toss and bat

Power Play score - 60-70

First Innings Score - 200-210

Rajasthan Royals win the match