Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad took the IPL by storm last year with their ultra-aggressive batting lineup. The unit, led by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, with Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Reddy in the mix, set new benchmarks — they scored the league’s highest total (287/3 vs RCB), notched up three 250-plus totals and six totals over 200. They also smashed the highest powerplay score of 125 and the fastest team 100. They also chased down 166 in a mere 58 balls against Lucknow Super Giants.
Eventually finishing runners-up in IPL-2024, hosts SRH will look to continue with their merry ways in their first match of the new season against Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
The last time these teams clashed was in Qualifier 2 last year, in which the Pat Cummins-led side defeated Royals by 36 runs to enter the final, where they eventually lost to Kolkata Knight Riders. SRH also won the league match against RR by one run last season.
SRH have retained their core team of Head, Abhishek, Nitish, Klaasen and Cummins, and also added Ishan Kishan to their ranks. Ishan lends heft to the already batting-heavy lineup that also includes Abhinav Manohar, known for his six-hitting prowess and who, like Klaasen, is good against the spinners. That will also allow Nitish to ease back into action after an injury-enforced break.
In the bowling department, SRH have added Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel, which compensates for the loss of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and yorker specialist T Natarajan. With skipper Cummins to bowl the middle overs, the SRH attack will hope for enough cushion from their batters on a placid wicket that will need their new spin recruits, Australian leggie Adam Zampa and Rahul Chahar, on top of their game.
Royals will be helmed by Riyan Parag as their stand-in skipper since Sanju Samson is still yet to recover from the finger injury he sustained during the England series. Samson, it is expected, may come in as an Impact Player.
Jos Buttler has moved on — the decision to let the Englishman go was, by his own admission, Samson’s most difficult one — but in Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Rana and Parag, their batting unit has enough firepower. All eyes will be on 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, and IPL live scores for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Find out how to watch IPL 2025 in Canada and the USA.