IPL 2022 | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals - Preview, head to head, where to watch, and betting tips

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), comprising ten franchises, is already four-match old. Eight teams, including the latest additions Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, were in action in the cash-rich league. The only remaining sides to be featured are Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), and they will take on each other on Tuesday (March 29) in Match 5 of IPL 2022 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.

Barring Australian fast bowler Sean Abbott, who is currently in Pakistan for the limited-overs series, SRH, led by Kane Willamson, have all the squad members available. The onus will be on Willamson and Nicholas Pooran among the batters to set the stage on fire, while Umran Malik, the 22-year-old sensational from Jammu & Kashmir, will be on focus for his fierce pace.

RR, on the other hand, boasts of having Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, two of India’s leading spinners on their roster. They also have Jos Buttler at the top, and Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer in the middle. Their fast bowling attack looks potent as well, with the additions of Prashidh Krishna and Trent Boult from the IPL 2022 auction.

Form Guide

As both sides are playing their first match of the ongoing campaign, they will be fresh and fine ahead of the encounter.

Head to Head

SRH and RR have met 15 times in the past. While SRH ended up winning on eight occasions, RR had the last laugh seven times.

Predicted XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (c), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Umran Malik.

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c and wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jimmy Neesham, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Best betting tip

Kane Williamson to score over 24.5 @ 1.83

Given SRH’s newly-formed batting unit, featuring Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran, it would be safe to say that Williamson will try to stay in the middle as long as possible. They are even set to experiment with Abhishek Sharma to open the innings, which certainly gives an additional responsibility for the Kiwi to lead by an example.

In the past two IPL editions, Williamson maintained his average over 40 (45.3 in 2020, 43.7 in 2021), though his best season in the cash-rich league came in 2018, where he aggregated 517 runs in 17 games at 52.5. So, despite RR’s decent bowling attack, betting on Willamson should be a safe option.   

Match Prediction

Rajasthan Royals had arguably the best IPL auction ever in the last month Bengaluru. They have built a balanced squad and could be one of the title contenders this season. Sunrisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, does not look as good as their opponents. So, our prediction will be in favour of RR.

Match info 

Match - Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants, Indian Premier League 2022 MATCH NO: 5, 

Date – 29/03/2022

Time – 7.30 PM IST

Venue - Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune