The State of Play
The table-topping Rajasthan Royals go in search of their fifth win on the trot when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024 tomorrow.
Sanju Samson’s side have looked imperious in recent games, sweeping all before them to move to the top of the table with a record of eight wins from nine games.
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They have all but secured a place in the play-offs and appear well set to make a serious tilt at the trophy.
Samson was the star of their most recent win, hitting an unbeaten 71 off just 33 balls to guide his side to a seven-wicket victory over the Lucknow Super Giants.
Afterwards, he said: “We have been doing well, [although] we have been a little lucky as well. We have to stick to the right processes. Mistakes are supposed to happen in T20 cricket, and we reiterate to stick to the process.
“The results are coming our way, though, so it is clear that we are doing something right.”
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The Royals look a very well-balanced team. Samson is part of a batting line-up, along with Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag, that continues to post decent totals, and in Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma they possess a bowling line-up with variety and experience.
It amounts to a formidable side and the Sunrisers will need to be at their very best to avoid a third defeat on the bounce.
It has gone a little pear-shaped for Pat Cummins’ men over the past week with back-to-back defeats to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Chennai Super Kings stunting their progress.
They have smashed all sorts of batting records this season – including the highest total in T20 history when they made 287 against RCB on April 15 – but they still sit on an average record of five wins and four defeats from nine games.
They appear very comfortable batting first, moving past 250 on three occasions, but have failed to reach 200 this season when asked to chase.
“We’re pretty well-suited to chasing, but it hasn’t really come off yet. So yeah, it is something to work on,” Cummins admitted after the loss to CSK.
…Royals for a reason. 💗🔥 pic.twitter.com/7O6J3Q1z0J
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 1, 2024
Expected line-ups
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Head, Sharma, Markram, Reddy, Klaasen (wk), Samad, Ahmed, Cummins (c), Kumar, Unadkat, Natarajan
Rajasthan Royals: Jaiswal, Buttler, Samson (c, wk), Parag, Jurel, Powell, Hetmyer, Ashwin, Boult, Khan, Sharma
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the IPL to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Thursday’s match will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.50pm BST.
In India, the games can be streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
The before, during & after of a Klaasen ™️ shot 💥 pic.twitter.com/fdDBsOQwBO
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 30, 2024
Prediction
The table does not lie – the Royals are the best team in IPL right now.
They have quality in every department and, on paper, should win here. However, T20 is notoriously unpredictable and matches can turn in an instant, including at the toss.
Should the Sunrisers bat first it will be fascinating to see how the Royals bowling attack copes with big-hitting openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Should the coin fall differently and the Royals go first it changes the whole dynamic.
We’re going for the Royals to edge what could be another high-scoring game.
