Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals will kickstart their IPL 2025 campaign in the 2nd match of the tournament. The match will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on 23rd March 2025 at 3:30 PM IST.

Sunrisers Hyderabad were runners-up in the last edition and they’ll be itching to go one better in 2025. They completely changed their brand of cricket by going super aggressive with their batting, and it nearly paid off. They’ve added Ishan Kishan and Abhinav Manohar to bolster their already explosive batting unit.

Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa and Harshal Patel are the new additions in the bowling department and they are looking very solid as a team. They have good batting depth with excellent quality and the bowling also covers most bases. It’ll be interesting to see how aggressive they go as a side in IPL 2025.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have been one of the most consistent sides in the last few seasons but they’ve failed to win the title. They got knocked out by SRH in the 2nd Qualifier of IPL 2025 and the men in pink will look to settle the score in this game. Their squad looks good but lacks that overall depth that many other sides have in the IPL.

They trusted Shimron Hetmyer by retaining for a hefty amount and the West Indian will be an important player for them in the lower middle order. However, the Royals have a great core of Indian batters and they’ll expect them to come good this season. Nitish Rana is expected to bat at three. They also have Vaibhav Suryavanshi who will be the youngest to play in the IPL if he gets the chance.

Further from an overseas perspective, RR have the Sri Lankan spin twins – Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana – along with Jofra Archer’s return. In this article, we will look at the possible playing XIIs, Hyderabad conditions, fantasy tips, matchups and Dream11 Prediction for the 2nd match of IPL 2025 between SRH and RR.

IPL 2025 2nd Match: SRH vs RR Probable Playing XIs

SRH can also bring in Wiaan Mulder as the impact sub for Adam Zampa with Rahul Chahar as the leg-spinner.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1. Travis Head, 2. Abhishek Sharma, 3. Ishan Kishan (wk), 4. Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5. Heinrich Klaasen, 6. Abhinav Manohar, 7. Aniket Verma, 8. Pat Cummins (c), 9. Harshal Patel, 10. Mohammed Shami, 11. Adam Zampa 12. Jaydev Unadkat (Impact Sub)

Sanju Samson will be playing as a pure batter until his finger fully heals. He won’t field or keep in the first three matches. Riyan Parag will skipper the team for these games.

Rajasthan Royals: 1. Sanju Samson, 2. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3. Nitish Rana, 4. Riyan Parag (c), 5. Dhruv Jurel (wk), 6. Shimron Hetmyer, 7. Wanindu Hasaranga, 8. Jofra Archer, 9. Tushar Deshpande, 10. Maheesh Theekshana, 11. Sandeep Sharma 12. Akash Madhwal (Impact Sub)

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium Hyderabad Pitch Report and Weather

The pitch at Hyderabad was an excellent one for batting in IPL 2024. The average first innings score here in the last edition was 204 runs. It’s expected to be similar this season as well considering SRH’s explosive batting.

Not much movement is expected for the pacers as it’s a day game. Spinners may get some assistance. SRH chased down 165 in just 9.4 overs at this venue against LSG last year. Teams will prefer chasing if they win the toss.

It will be a clear day with no chance of rain. It might be a little cloudy but there’s no rain forecast. The temperature will be around 32-33 degrees Celsius at the game time.

ALSO READ: IPL 2025 predictions – Orange Cap, Purple Cap, Playoff teams, Winner

Fantasy Cricket Tips for SRH vs RR: Players to Watch/Key Stats

Note: Try to pick more batters and all-rounders if you are playing on Dream11. The new point system rewards the batters heavily.

Top Wicket-Keeper Picks:

• Heinrich Klaasen is one of the most explosive batters in world cricket. He’s been in good form as well. Klaasen averaged 90.50 at a strike rate of 194.62 at this venue last season. He will be a must in your fantasy teams. Try him as C/VC while batting first.
• Sanju Samson has 801 runs against SRH in 23 innings at an average of 44.50 including four fifties and a century. Samson is a key batter for his side and has been in terrific form lately.
• Ishan Kishan is expected to bat at 3 for SRH. He is an explosive batter who likes to attack the opposition. Kishan will be a top fantasy pick, especially on Dream11 with the new points system.

Key batter picks:

• Travis Head is arguably the most explosive batter in world cricket in recent years. He has been very consistent with his attacking approach and will be a must in your fantasy teams. Head scored 241 runs in six innings at an average of 48.20 and strike rate of 191.27 with three fifties at Hyderabad in IPL 2024. He will be a top C/VC option.
• Yashasvi Jaiswal will be an important batter for his side at the top. We all know how capable he is and what he can do on his day. Jaiswal has 266 runs against SRH at an average of 38 at a strike rate of 158.30 with a couple of fifties.

Top all-rounder picks:

• Abhishek Sharma averaged 56.80 at a strike rate of 249.12 at Hyderabad in IPL 2024 (284 runs in just six innings with three fifties). He has done a great job for India in T20Is in the last 12 months and will be a top C/VC option for this game.
• Riyan Parag was phenomenal for Rajasthan in IPL 2024 and will play an even more pivotal role at number 4 this year. He is a good player of spin bowling and can play according to the situation. Parag may also bowl an over or two. He will be a must in your fantasy teams.
• Nitish Kumar Reddy was the find of IPL 2024. He is a match-winner with the bat and can bowl 2-3 overs on any given day. He has 140 runs in four innings at the venue at an average of 70 at a strike of 159.09. A top fantasy option.

Key bowler picks:

• Pat Cummins picked eight wickets at Hyderabad in IPL 2024. He will bowl the important overs for his side and he’s capable with the bat as well. Cummins will be a good pick in your fantasy teams.
• Harshal Patel has 21 wickets in 12 games against Rajasthan Royals. He was the Purple Cap winner in IPL 2024 and will bowl in the middle and death overs. Patel can pick up wickets in clusters considering RR’s fragile lower order.

Other Players to Consider for your Fantasy Cricket Team

• Nitish Rana will bat at 3 for the Royals. He has four fifties against SRH in 16 innings for his 546 runs at an average of 34.10. He may roll his arm over if required. He is decent fantasy pick who will be a game-changer on his day.
• Wanindu Hasaranga has a 5-fer against SRH in the IPL. SRH’s current batting unit is excellent against spin but their attacking nature can go against them. Hasaranga can be a good fantasy pick with his batting ability as well.
• Adam Zampa is a genuine wicket-taker in T20s. He can bowl in any phase of the game and can trouble Rajasthan’s batting unit in this match. Try him as C/VC while bowling second.

Other Matchups and Facts

• Head to Head: SRH (11), RR (9)
• Travis Head vs Jofra Archer (T20Is + T20s): 22 deliveries, 25 runs, 2 dismissals.
• Sanju Samson vs Adam Zampa (T20s): 16 deliveries, 23 runs, 2 dismissals.

IPL 2025 2nd Match: SRH vs RR Dream11 Prediction

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article, as well as your own instincts, to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

IPL 2025 2nd Match: SRH vs RR Match Prediction -Who will win?

Sunrisers Hyderabad will start as the favourites to win this game. Apart from that number 7 spot, they have excellent depth with both bat and ball. Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, lack depth in their batting. SRH should open their account in this match.

ALSO READ: IPL 2025 predictions – Orange Cap, Purple Cap, Playoff teams, Winner