The 5th match of the IPL 2022 will see Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) taking on Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the MCA Stadium in Pune on March 29.
Both the franchises have a lot to prove as they have not managed to play to their true potential in the previous two editions of the IPL tournament. Also after the IPL 2022 mega auction, things have changed a lot for both teams in terms of new faces joining the squads.
SRH, who had retained Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, and Umran Malik ahead of the IPL 15 auction, bought the likes of Nicholas Pooran for INR 10.75 crores, and also splurged on Washington Sundar (INR 8.75 crs), Rahul Tripathi (INR 8.50 crs) and Romario Shepherd (INR 7.75 crs).
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Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals’ biggest buy was Prasidh Krishna for INR 10 crores. They also bought Trent Boult for INR 8 crores and other big buys in the auction were Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Navdeep Saini, and Rassie van der Dussen amongst others.
Keeping this in mind, here is the COC Predicted Playing XIs for the SRH v RR IPL 2022 match.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
The Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise had named Kane Williamson as their captain even before the IPL 2022 auction to give some clarity to the players. There are also expectations that Abhishek Sharma, the young left-hander might open the innings, bringing in the left-right-handed combination.
This means either Williamson or Aiden Markram, who was brought in the auction, will open with Abhishek. Rahul Tripathi might bat at no.4 with the big-hitters in Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad coming in to boost the scoring in the later half of the innings.
Washington Sundar is expected to be the lead spinner of the SRH team and will have Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, or even Shreyas Gopal for company. Given the excess of all-rounders in the squad, SRH might be able to field an extra pacer as well.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik are expected to play almost all matches for the franchise, while Marco Jansen’s left-arm pace will aid the duo. Now then can bring in either Kartik Tyagi or T Natarajan to help them out in pace department.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Rajasthan Royals’ performances in the last few IPL editions have been unsatisfactory as well and this time, they decided to retain only three players in Sanju Samson, their captain, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the IPL 2022 auction.
They had some good buys in the auction which has made their squad stronger and more diverse in terms of skills.
It remains to be seen who will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal- Jos Buttler or Devdutt Padikkal, but they need to have a potent batter to be the backbone of the middle order. Sanju Samson with big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer and versatile Riyan Parag will form that middle order with the possibility of Buttler batting at 4.
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RR was wise to put their money in two of the best spinners in T20 cricket today in R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, giving them variety and experience.
As for the fast bowling contingent goes, RR’s first-choice picks will be Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, with most probably Nathan Coulter-Nile for company.
They might also get in James Neesham if they want a better batter, given Coulter-Nile is more of a bowling all-rounder.
SRH COC Predicted Playing XI:
Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Kane Williamson (C), Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Kartik Tyagi, Umran Malik
RR COC Predicted Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (C-WK), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Nathan Coulter-Nile, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna
