Key match-ups, analysis, form, team news, weather forecast, tickets, TV and streaming information, odds, predictions and more ahead of the latest encounter in the 2023 IPL
Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
The match will be played on Sunday, April 2 with play commencing at 3.30pm local time (11am GMT).
The game will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
This is both sides' first game of the new Indian Premier League season.Sunrisers are looking to rebound from successive eighth-place finishes in 2021 and 2022. They've reached the playoffs on three occasions in their 10 seasons, going all the way in 2016.
Royals kick off their campaign after reaching last year's final, where they were beaten by Gujarat Titans in their inaugural campaign. It was just their third appearance in the playoffs, but they haven't claimed the title since the first edition in 2008.
Sunrisers go into this new season looking for a fresh start after failing to challenge in the last two years. This new season will give an opportunity to the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, and Samarth Vyas. Their bowling lineup looks particularly potent, led by Umran Malik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, T Natarajan, Farzalhaq Farooqi, Washington Sundar and Adil Rashid. They start the year without captain Aiden Markram, who remains on international duty.
It's a different story for Royals, who come off the back of a runners-up finish last year and look set to to push for the title this season with an even stronger squad full of T20 experience. On the bowling front, the Royals look formidable with Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin leading the line. New signings Jason Holder, Joe Root and Adam Zampa have been added to bolster their resources. Skipper Sanju Samson will be without Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy who have been hit with late injuries.
Can Harry Brook light up the IPL? (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
SRH's out-of-form bowling line-up will face a tough test against the Royals batting line-up with Jos Buttler primed to take advantage of any substandard bowling.
Royals will need to start their season well here if they are going to gain any places up the table, but they will have to be wary of spin duo Chahal and Ashwin who are always capable of a bit of magic.
Matches played: 16
Sunrisers Hyderabad wins: 8
Rajasthan Royals wins: 8
It will be a very warm Sunday in Hyderabad with highs of 36 degrees Celsius expected.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abdul Samad, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Sanvir Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Anmolpreet Singh, Akeal Hosein
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donavon Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, M Ashwin, Akash Vashisht, Abdul PA, Joe Root
*squads are for the 2023 season as a whole and not specific to this match
Jos Buttler finished the 2022 IPL as the leading run-scorer (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal
The bookies make the Royals favourites for this match with 5/6 odds. SRH are 19/20 to win.
With Sunrisers missing key players for their opening game, everything points to a Royals victory.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
If you are watching from the Middle East, you'll be able to view the game on Times Internet.
People from Bangladesh can watch the game on Gazi TV.
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