Smarting from two successive losses, Sunrisers Hyderabad will have their task cut out when they take on table toppers Rajasthan Royals in their next Indian Premier League fixture at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The two losses against Royals Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings have plummeted the SRH outfit to the fifth in the IPL standings with 10 points, and the Pat Cummins-led side will be hoping to mend their chasing struggles heading into the business end of the tournament.

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In doing so, the Sunrisers will be hoping that their over-dependence on the opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma could be lethal for them, and thus the team management would expect the likes of Aiden Markram and the rest of the middle and lower order batters to shoulder more responsibility, especially during run-chases.

Both Markram and Klaasen as well as the lower order batters have been hugely successful in adding meat to their scores on days when their openers set the tone, but on their off days, the middle order will be expected to rebuild the innings before going ballistic.

On the bowling front, the Sunrisers boast of a potent attack led by Pat Cummins, and comprising the left-arm duo of Jaydev Unadkat and T Natarajan, along with veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mayank Markande can also pose a few challenges in the middle overs for the Royals.

The Royals, on the other hand, are on a roll after recording eight victories from nine outings so far. With 16 points in their kitty, the Sanju Samson-led unit are almost certain to make the play-offs. With four players of the team — Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Avesh Khan (reserve) making it to the T20 World Cup squad, the Royals appear a strong unit this season, and as such will be up for all challenges.

The return to form of Jos Buttler and Jaiswal have bolstered their batting, and the duo will once again be expected to get the side off to a solid start before the likes of Samson, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer can add muscle to their scores.

The bowling unit has complimented the batters with equal intensity across all the games so far. The experience of Sandeep Sharma and Trent Boult, along with the tall Avesh Khan’s death bowling expertise have been instrumental in their wins so far. The spin duo of Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin has also been effective in the middle overs, making them one of the most fearsome units of IPL 2024.

On head-to-head count, Sunrisers Hyderabad have faced Rajasthan Royals 18 times in the IPL so far with either side winning 9 each, which makes it a balanced contest. Having said that, based on recent form, the Royals hold the edge but it will be foolish to discount SRH, playing in front of their vociferous home crowd.