RR vs SRH Match Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2023 match?
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) were each other's first opponents in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). On April 2, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, the two teams locked horns, with the tournament in its nascent stages.
Sanju Samson and Co. were comprehensive winners on that occasion. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal's blistering opening partnership saw them amass 85 runs in the powerplay, and they never looked back from there. The Royals made 203/5, a total SRH fell 72 runs short of after Yuzvendra Chahal ran through the opposition batters to pick up four wickets.
Soon after that, RR managed to record three more wins in their next four matches. At one point, they had eight points from five games and seemed all set to cruise to a top-two spot. However, fate had other ideas.
Rajasthan have seen their record reversed in their last five matches, having not taken any points away from four of them. With five wins and as many losses, they are barely inside the playoff spots and desperately need to rediscover some of their early-season momentum.
SRH, on the other hand, never had any momentum to begin with. They started their tournament in poor form and have never really been able to improve, having also lost four of their last five matches.
The Orange Army are placed dead last in the IPL 2023 points table with three wins from nine matches and the worst net run rate in the competition. They need to win all of their remaining games to be guaranteed a playoff berth, and that seems next to impossible given how inconsistent they've been so far.
To make matters worse for the away side, RR have beaten them in three of their last five meetings. And when they've beaten them, they've beaten them comprehensively.
IPL 2023, RR vs SRH Match Prediction: Royals look to recover from mid-season misery
History might favor RR, but they will be extremely disappointed with the way they've played over the last few matches. Concerningly, their most important players have failed to produce the goods this year.
Key overseas batters Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer are currently in the middle of terrible runs of form, while captain Sanju Samson has played a couple of high-impact knocks without any consistency to show for it. The likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Riyan Parag have looked out of place in the middle order as well.
In the bowling department, star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and new recruit Jason Holder haven't lived up to their billing. Ravichandran Ashwin's control over the middle overs and Trent Boult's powerplay threat have somewhat papered over the cracks, which are getting exposed on a regular basis these days.
However, RR could return to form against SRH, who might not have the resources to counter them. The Sunrisers' opening pairing of Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma is susceptible against swing, while some of the middle-order batters, including the expensive Harry Brook, won't find it easy against Chahal and Ashwin.
Moreover, the likes of Buttler, Hetmyer, and Samson won't fail forever. Even Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been Rajasthan's standout batter in IPL 2023 but was run out in the previous game, will be itching to make the most of his form.
While SRH have an immense amount of ability on their roster, RR just seem likelier to find their bearings sooner. They can be labeled slight favorites for this IPL 2023 contest.
Prediction: RR to win Match 52 of IPL 2023.