Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural champions of the IPL, have opted for a balanced lineup, featuring four overseas players: Shimron Hetmyer, Maheesh Theekshana, Jofra Archer and Fazalhaq Farooqi. The decision to include Archer, who brings express pace and deadly accuracy, is expected to boost their bowling attack, while Hetmyer adds firepower to the middle order.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the 2016 champions and last season’s runners-up, have made some interesting changes to their squad. They have young talents Ishan Kishan and Abhinav Manohar, reflecting their focus on grooming future stars alongside experienced campaigners. Kishan’s aggressive batting at the top of the order could be crucial in setting the tone for SRH’s innings.
The match promises to be an intriguing battle as both teams look to gain early momentum in the tournament.
Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Dubey, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (w), Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins (c), Simarjeet Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami
