IPL 2022 SRH vs RR: Rajasthan and Hyderabad look to start with a win

Rajasthan Royals, with multiple match-winning players, will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday in a battle between two former champions, with both teams eyeing to start the current season of the IPL with a win. Royals' batting will largely depend on the performance of skipper Sanju Samson who has been with the team for the past few years but has not been able to perform as expected. Royals won their first IPL title in 2008 under the late Shane Warne, but the team has never been able to perform impressively since then.

Samson has played well in one or two matches every year, but if the Royals want to win their second title, he will have to be consistent in his performance. This will also give Samson a chance to cement his place in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup to be held later this year. Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal can open the innings for the Royals. Butler is capable of tearing apart any attack. He can give Royals a strong start with Padikkal which will make it easier for players like Samson.

In the middle order, the Royals have power-hitters like Shimron Hetmyer, Rasi van der Dusen, James Neesham, and Riyan Parag. His contribution will be immensely important to the team. Royals have a strong bowling unit in the presence of spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Singh Chahal. Both of them are certain to play in the playing XI and their eight overs will be crucial. The fast bowling department will be headed by Trent Boult with the famous Krishna and Navdeep Saini to accompany him.

As far as Sunrisers is concerned, captain Kane Williamson is the most experienced batsman in their batting order. His New Zealand teammate Glenn Phillips can open the innings while the responsibility of the middle order will be on Nicholas Pooran, Priyam Garg, and Rahul Tripathi. If Williamson comes down to number three, then Ravikumar Samarth can play the role of the opener while Abdul Samad will be the finisher.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead Sunrisers' bowling attack but he and Umran Malik will need to be consistent in their performances. Left-arm pacer T Natarajan is making a comeback and his yorker could prove fatal for the opposition batsmen. The role of Washington Sundar, Shreyas Gopal, and J Suchit will be crucial in the spinners.

Teams :

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Cariappa, Jos Buttler, Rasi van der Dusen, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Pranand Krishna, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Washington Sundar, Romario Shepherd, Marco Jensen, J Suchit, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sean Abbott, Karthik Tyagi, Saurabh Tiwari, Fazlhaq Farooqui, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.