Richard Mann previews more of the upcoming action from the IPL as the Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Rajasthan Royals.
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals (Mar 29)
Two more sides who were beaten in their opening matches, Sunrisers Hyderabad dominating much of their encounter with Kolkata Knights Riders until Andre Russell's stunning late show turned the game on its head in the space of three overs.
Still, the Sunrisers remain one of the teams to beat this year with David Warner's successful return to the competition on Sunday - 85 from 53 balls - a huge boost to a batting line-up that relied too heavily on Kane Williamson last season.
Having missed the Sunrisers' first match with a shoulder niggle, Williamson is expected to return to the side at the expense of Jonny Bairstow and the Kiwi will be hoping for a more professional display from a bowling attack that is widely regarded as one of the strongest in the competition.
The Sunrisers will have been disappointed to have not been able to defend 181 on Sunday and while Siddarth Kaul and Rashid Khan impressed as always, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a long way from his brilliant best, similarly Shakib Al Hasan, and both will be keen to get back on track here.
The Royals, too, suffered an early setback when defeated by Kings XI Punjab with Jos Buttler's Mankad dismissal appearing to change the course of that match as he looked in sublime touch in racing to 69 until that unfortunate dismissal.
With the likes of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes also in their ranks, the Royals should be a force to be reckoned with this season.
I'd just prefer the Sunrisers here but 4/6 looks about right and I'll to sit this one out unless the in-play betting offers better value, possibly if the home side fail to post a big first innings score and leave their attack needing to defend a seemingly below-par total.
With Khan leading a proven bowling unit, the Sunrisers are capable of defending just about anything and are always worth serious consideration in such circumstances.
Posted at 1430 GMT on 26/03/19
