Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, in the 50th match of IPL 2024 on May 2, Thursday. Both these teams will be keen on picking up a win in this game as they need to do so.
SRH, who were on a roll until recently, have found themselves on the wrong end of the results thanks to two consecutive losses in the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings. Rajasthan Royals, however, have done exceptionally well for themselves.
RR will celebrate that their skipper and wicketkeeper, Sanju Samson, has been selected in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. The tournament will take place in June later this year in the West Indies and USA. SRH, however, have the home advantage and will be keen on making full use of it.
Predicted Squads
SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan.
RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Key Players
Travis Head (SRH): Australian opener Travis Head, whom SRH bought in the auction preceding this IPL, is one of the players to watch out for. Head has blown this IPL apart with his swashbuckling shotmaking and is expected to continue.
Riyan Parag (RR): All-rounder Riyan Parag has made opposition teams fear his presence in the RR squad. Parag, who comes in the middle order, is known to increase the scoring pace. He can also add much value to his team with the ball in hand with his off-breaks.
Match Prediction
Despite their recent lack of form, SRH are the favourites to win this game. RR has been rather impressive this IPL and is also one of the favourites to win it, but it will not be easy for them to come to the Uppal fortress and dictate terms to the Eagles — that is, the Sunrisers.
Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders - 03.05.2024 Prediction
Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders will play each other in the 51st match of IPL 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, May 3. These two teams, representing India's two big megacities — Mumbai and Calcutta — will be keen on battling for regional pride.
MI know that they have to do better than they have been doing all season, as is showcased by their lowly ranking in the IPL table at the time of writing. KKR, on the other hand, have been one of the teams to beat this season and are also one of the favourites to win it.
Although KKR pacer Harshit Rana was handed a ban owing to indecent behavior against Delhi Capitals, they have enough resources in their side to last the entire tournament. MI will rely heavily upon their batters to take them through this game and pick up all two points.
Predicted Squads
MI: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah.
KKR: Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Key Players
Tilak Varma (MI): Young Tilak Varma, who bats in the middle order for MI in the IPL, is one of the most exciting prospects in the country. He is expected to add a lot of momentum to the MI batting unit whenever he walks out to bat and give them the extra push they need in the middle overs.
Sunil Narine (KKR): All-rounder Sunil Narine has broken all barriers in the IPL this season and showcased why he is among the best in the business. He has opened the innings alongside Phil Salt and proved to all and sundry that he can hit the ball a long way. With the ball in hand, he has been phenomenal.
Match Prediction
KKR, despite being the visiting side, are expected to win this game owing to their superior form. MI have not quite been able to get their combinations right this season, and this is bound to torment them in this game as well. Their supporters are likely to play a key role here.