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Sunrisers Hyderabad
Rajasthan Royals
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals will meet in the Eliminator of the IPL 2026 at MYS International Stadium, Chandigarh. Both teams will enter this match after similar campaigns in the league stage.
SRH finished third with 18 points after winning 9 of their 14 matches, while RR secured fourth place with 16 points from 8 wins. The winner will move one step closer to the final and face the loser of Qualifier 1 between RCB and GT.
SRH will have a strong psychological advantage as they have defeated RR in each of their last 5 meetings, including both matches earlier this season. 4 of those victories came while defending totals, which will give SRH confidence if they bat first again. Their recent form has also been slightly better, with 3 wins in the last 5 matches compared to RRβs 2 wins.
Sunrisers Hyderabad openers have looked more consistent and aggressive in the powerplay this season, while RRβs opening pair has struggled for stability in recent matches.
The betting tip is...
Highest Opening Partnership - SRH
68 %
32 %
Sunrisers HyderabadRajasthan RoyalsSRH have one of the strongest batting units in the league stage. Heinrich Klaasen is in the Orange Cap race with 606 runs at a strike rate of 159.47 and has registered 6 fifties. Abhishek Sharma has 563 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 206.22 with a century and 4 fifties.
Ishan Kishan has 569 runs at 178.36 strike rate with 6 half-centuries. Travis Head has 393 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 168.66. Nitish Kumar Reddy strengthened the middle order with 264 runs at a 169.23 strike rate.
Eshan Malinga leads the bowling attack with 19 wickets in 14 matches. Sakib Hussain has 15 wickets in 10 games and has not gone wicketless in any match this season. Praful Hinge has 11 wickets in just 6 matches. Shivang Kumar and Harsh Dubey took 8 wickets each, while Nitish Kumar Reddy picked up 7 wickets. Pat Cummins has contributed 8 wickets in 7 games.
Klaasen, Kishan and Abhishek are the key batters.
Predicted Lineup: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravichandran Smaran, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga.
RR have relied heavily on their top order batters. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is fifth in the Orange Cap race with 583 runs at a strike rate of 232.27.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has 397 runs at a strike rate of 159.43, but has gone through a series of low scores in recent matches. Dhruv Jurel brings stability in the middle order with 458 runs at a 149.67 strike rate and has 5 fifties. Riyan Parag contributed 272 runs at a 152.80 strike rate.
Jofra Archer leads the bowling attack with 21 wickets in 14 matches. Ravi Bishnoi and Brijesh Sharma supported him well with 13 and 11 wickets respectively. Nandre Burger has 11 wickets in 11 matches. Ravindra Jadeja has 8 wickets in 10 innings, while Yash Raj Punja impressed with 8 wickets in just 6 matches.
Sooryavanshi, Jurel and Archer are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shubham Dubey, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will start slightly ahead in this Eliminator because of their stronger batting depth and dominant record against Rajasthan Royals in recent meetings.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head will attack during the powerplay, and SRHβs opening pair looks more settled going into this match. RR also have an explosive top order, but Jaiswalβs recent form has not been consistent enough.
Archer and Malinga will keep this contest competitive with the ball, but SRHβs aggressive start at the top and batting depth at the top could become the biggest difference in this knockout game.
