Rajasthan Royals are taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad in match two of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Hyderabad.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) are currently taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their opening match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). The Rajasthan Royals. One of the notable changes to the Rajasthan Royals playing XI is that Riyan Parag is captaining the side, as had been confirmed earlier, while regular skipper Sanju Samson has been named as one of the impact player substitutes. Another notable absentee from the Royals’ playing XI is the absence of Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
One of the reasons for Rajasthan Royals opting for Mahesh Theekshana over Wanindu Hasaranga is because the Royals’ playing XI features a batting line-up which is heavy on left-handers, so they probably looked to have left-hand right-hand balance. Mahesh Theekshana is a right-arm off-break bowler and also bats right-handed lower down the order.
Another reason could be because of the ability of Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to counter-attack against spinners in the powerplay. Theekshana was in fact introduced in the powerplay itself against Sunrisers Hyderabad and both his overs were expensive. At the time of writing this report, Theekshana had bowled three overs and conceded 40 runs, while taking the wicket of Abhishek Sharma (24).
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Barring Abhishek’s wicket, Sunrisers Hyderabad have run riot all over the Rajasthan Royals bowlers. The hosts managed to post a total of 94/1 in the powerplay (First six overs). At that time, Travis Head was unbeaten on 46 whereas Ishan Kishan was not out on 20. Jofra Archer endured a difficult start to his return to Rajasthan Royals as he conceded 23 runs in his first over.
It’s safe to say that Sunrisers Hyderabad have picked up from where they left off in IPL 2024, where they finished runners-up after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. Sunrisers Hyderabad had posted a total of 277/3 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in March last year during IPL 2024, which was then the highest team total in IPL history. The Pat Cummins-led side broke their own record, registering 287/3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in April. IPL 2024 in fact witnessed a total of eight 250-lus team totals.
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