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It will be a battle of two teams in the top half of the IPL 2024 standings when the Rajasthan Royals (RR) take on SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on May 2.
RR has been the standout side of the tournament thus far, winning eight out of their nine outings to be atop the points table. Meanwhile, SRH started strong by winning five out of seven games before losing their previous two encounters by a wide margin.
A win will clinch RR a playoff spot barring an improbable miracle, while SRH will be back in the top four with a victory in the encounter.
The RR-SRH rivalry has historically been underplayed, despite being a closely contested matchup. Both teams have won an IPL title while splitting their 18 head-to-head meetings at nine apiece.
Several players have played for both franchises in IPL history with contrasting fortunes.
On that note, let us build up to the mouthwatering contest by forming a playing 11 with players to have featured for both SRH and RR.
Openers - Aaron Finch & Shreevats Goswami
Two contrasting batters, Aaron Finch and Shreevats Goswami, will form the opening partnership of this combined playing XI. The former Australian captain is renowned for playing in most of the IPL franchises during his career.
RR was Finch's first IPL franchise in 2010 but he played only the lone game and scored a run-a-ball 21. After a short stint at the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the now-defunct Pune Warriors, the 37-year-old moved to SRH for the 2014 season.
Finch played a much bigger role for them, scoring 309 runs with two half-centuries in 13 outings. Yet, he moved to the Mumbai Indians (MI) the following season.
Meanwhile, the flashy Shreevats Goswami was part of RR from 2012 to 2014 but played only in the first season. In 11 games in 2012, the southpaw scored only 69 runs at an average of 13.80 but effected eight dismissals as the wicket-keeper.
After a three-year absence, the now-34-year-old was picked up by SRH in 2018 until 2021. However, Goswami played only a combined 8 matches for them and scored 52 runs at an average of 17.33.
Middle Order - Naman Ojha, Deepak Hooda, & Heinrich Klaasen (wk)
The middle order boasts Naman Ojha at No.3 followed by the explosive duo, Deepak Hooda and Heinrich Klaasen.
Ojha started his IPL career with RR in 2009 and was part of the franchise for two seasons. The stylish wicketkeeper-batter played only eight games in 2009 but enjoyed his best IPL season the following year.
Ojha scored 377 runs at an average of over 31 and a strike rate of 132.28 in 14 games in 2010. The Madhya Pradesh-born cricketer played for DC before moving to SRH in 2014. Ojha was a regular member of the SRH side for four years from 2014 to 2017, scoring over 500 runs in 56 games. He was also an integral part of their title-winning team in 2016.
Like Ojha, Hooda also started his IPL career with RR in 2014 and was part of the franchise until 2015. While he did not get game time in 2014, the 29-year-old played 14 games for them in 2015 and scored 151 runs.
Hooda moved to SRH the following year and played for them in four seasons from 2016 to 2019. Despite featuring in 47 games, the right-hander did not score a half-century. However, Hooda made a few timely contributions that helped SRH enjoy the best phase of their IPL history in those four years.
Coming to Klaasen, his IPL career also started with RR in 2018. However, the South African wicket-keeper batter played only four games, scoring 57 runs.
After another solo season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2019, Klaasen has finally found his IPL home with SRH. The 32-year-old joined the franchise last year and set the tournament on fire with 448 runs at an average of almost 50 and a strike rate of 177.08.
Klaasen has continued his sparkling form for SRH in the ongoing season with 295 runs at an average of over 42 and a strike rate of 185.53 in nine outings.
All-rounders - Yusuf Pathan & Jason Holder
Former all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was the cornerstone behind RR's title run in the inaugural IPL in 2008.
The big-hitting batter spent his first three years with RR from 2008, and 2010, scoring over 1,000 runs in 43 games. Pathan was also the Player of the Match in the 2008 IPL final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The 41-year-old moved to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for seven years from 2011 to 2017 before coming to SRH for his final two IPL seasons in 2018 and 2019. Pathan played 25 matches for SRH in those two seasons, helping them reach the final in 2018.
Former West Indian captain Jason Holder had two separate stints with SRH in 2014 and 2020-2021. He played a combined 16 games across those 3 seasons and picked up an impressive 31 wickets. Holder was their go-to bowler in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, evidenced by his bowling average of 16 in 15 outings.
Holder was part of RR for a lone season in 2023 and played eight games, picking up only four wickets.
Bowlers - Shreyas Gopal, Karthik Tyagi, Trent Boult & Sandeep Sharma
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was part of the RR setup from 2018 to 2021, playing 42 games and picking up 41 wickets. He moved to SRH for a single season in 2022 but played only a lone game, before moving to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing IPL.
23-year-old Kartik Tyagi impressed fans and experts during his RR stint in 2020 and 2021, picking up 13 wickets in 14 games. However, his stocks came down after the move to SRH for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Tyagi played only five matches across those two seasons and picked up two wickets.
New Zealand veteran pacer Trent Boult has played for RR since the 2022 season and is having another impressive run in the ongoing IPL with 10 wickets in nine games. He also bagged 29 wickets in the previous two seasons for RR, helping them qualify for the final in 2022. Boult also played for SRH in 2015 and 2016, picking up 10 wickets in eight outings.
The No.11 for the SRH-RR playing XI will be the underrated Sandeep Sharma, who has been excelling for RR since last season. The 30-year-old has picked up 18 scalps in 16 games for RR from 2023 to the present.
Before joining RR, Sandeep played for SRH from 2018 to 2021 and was a fairly regular starter, picking up 41 wickets in 43 matches.
