Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals IPL Tips: Revamped Royals have firepower to score big

Paul Krishnamurty
28 March 2022

Jos Buttler's odds are boosted for this match

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Previewing Tuesday's match, Paul Krishnamurty prefers Rajasthan to Sunrisers but, due to a considerable toss bias at the ground, recommends ways of getting them onside in the side markets...

"Early tournament, on fresh pitches, is the best to time to back big totals."

Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals
Tuesday, 15:00 BST
Live on Sky Sports Cricket

These two sides filled the bottom two places in last year's IPL and the pre-tournament betting signals are not confident. Sunrisers are the outsiders of ten at odds of 26.025/1 whilst Rajasthan are available to back at 11.521/2. However in the wake of so many squad changes across the league, hope springs eternal.

How will Sunrisers fare without Warner and Rashid?

Sunrisers were ever present in the play-offs from 2016-2020, winning the first of those renewals. The cornerstones of that success - David Warner and Rashid Khan - have now moved on but that may not prove a net negative. Warner's slow scoring was a liability last year and there should now, at last, be a permanent overseas slot for captain Kane Williamson.

Nevertheless, this line-up does look weak by comparison to the rest. Particularly the bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also pivotal during their glory years but not the force of old. Thangarasu Natarajan was a death-bowling superstar in 2020 but hasn't as yet rediscovered that form.

On the plus side, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tripathi, Marco Jansen and Washington Sundar are all decent signings, adding depth to the batting.

Royals have the squad to contend now

Rajasthan's meagre 2021 efforts are easier to forgive, because their overseas contingent was decimated from the outset. Whilst consistently one of the lesser IPL lights, they have often punched above their weight. This revamped squad may well prove to be their best in a long time.

In truth, I don't see a major weakness. Devdutt Padikkal looked a potential superstar at RCB and he may open with another emerging youngster, Yashasvi Jaiswal. If not, or at three, Jos Buttler is one of the great T20 batsmen.

To follow, skipper Sanju Samson plus various explosive finishers in contention for a place - Rassie van der Dussen, Jimmy Neesham or Daryl Mitchell. RVDD is a particularly exciting signing.

New bowling line-up looks outstanding

However it is the new bowlers that really excite me. Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Ashwin are top drawer. Prasidh Krishna a rising Indian star.

The tournament started horribly for me with runs failing to materialise in the Chennai/KKR match. However I don't regret the strategy. Early tournament, on fresh pitches, is the best to time to back big totals and the value was evident in the historic numbers at the ground. Of course, the pitch is a known unknown that can demean the trends and so it proved on Saturday, but following the ground stats remains a solid, long-term strategy.

Big advantage to chasers at Pune

So what do we know about the MCA International Stadium, Pune? We haven't seen it for a while in IPL but, back in the day, it was very much a place to consider backing 'overs'. In the last 13 matches there, 200 was breached three times and scores of 176 plus were chased four times. There is a definite advantage to the chaser here, who won nine times.

Therefore, whilst I definitely prefer Royals over the course of the season, taking 1.84/5 pre-toss makes no sense. Instead if they bat first, focus on 1st Innings Runs. Attractive odds should be available about the 180 or more, 190 or more and 200 or more lines - my guess is 3.613/5, 5.79/2 and 9.08/1.

Today's #OddsBoost batsmen are Kane Williamson and Jos Buttler - both enhanced to 7/2 for top team runscorer. Both are fair value at those odds, particularly Buttler, who has been a standing dish in the top Royals batsman market for years. I considered him for Man of the Match too at 9/1.

Follow Paul on Twitter @paulmotty