Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals Preview & Prediction | IPL 2025 | League Stage
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Finalists in 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad are looking to go one better in 2025 and start against a Rajasthan Royals side they defeated in last year’s second qualifier.
Date & time: Sunday Match 23rd 2025: USA PT – 3:00am / USA ET – 6:00am / UK – 10:00am
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, India
Weather: Extremely hot conditions with sunny intervals, light winds and temperatures of over 30c.
How to watch: USA – Willow TV / UK – Sky Sports & Sky Go / Australia – Foxtel
Sunrisers Hyderabad Preview: Taking the next step
After losing out in the final last year, Sunrisers Hyderabad will feel that they aren’t far away from their second major trophy, having not won the IPL again since 2016. It was their first appearance in the post season for four years and you could argue that the following mega auction came at the wrong time for them.
Australia’s Pat Cummins leads SRH, who can also call upon two more Aussie international stars in Travis Head and Adam Zampa. Heinrich Klaasen is a destructive hitter down the order, whilst all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is expected to play a big role for SRH in 2025, not to mention ace-bowler Mohammed Shami.
Rajasthan Royals Preview: Post Buttler era begins
It will be a very different Rajasthan Royals that take to the field for the 2025 IPL season with long-time asset Jos Buttler having been released. The England star had been the face of Rajasthan Royals for a number of years but after failing to secure a second title since their inaugural triumph back in the opening year of the tournament, Kumar Sangakkara and his staff have opted for change.
Buttler being released opened up a chunk of their budget, whilst other experienced assets like Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal were also released. The main Indian core of Rajasthan consists of captain Sanju Samson alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Nitish Rana and Shubham Dubey.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Betting Analysis
Mohammed Shami is one of several Indian players coming into the IPL on the back of having won the ICC Champions Trophy for their nation. The 34-year-old pacer was named in the team of the tournament after picking up nine wickets across five matches. Expect him to comfortably handle the transition from 50-over-cricket to T20 and to start with a flourish by picking up over 1.5 match wickets vs Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Royals Betting Analysis
With Buttler no longer a pillar of this Rajasthan top order, more pressure is on the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal to deliver for the Royals. The extraordinarily talented young batter hasn’t yet locked down a place in India’s white ball teams despite being a regular in Test cricket. A run-laden IPL in 2025 could change things for Jaiswal. Consider backing him to start well here and finish as the Royals’ top better.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals Expert Prediction
Rajasthan Royals are a team very much in transition with a sizeable chunk of their experienced core having been released. With that in mind, it may take time for us to see the best of Rajasthan over the course of this IPL season. But in a tournament of such intensity, that can leave them in trouble if they aren’t careful.
As it stands, it feels like Sunrisers Hyderabad are ahead in their development as an all-round unit with the sort of incredible batting firepower that looks the envy of other squads. Back them at home to come out on top here.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals Top Tip: Sunrisers Hyderabad to win
