Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Prediction & Match Preview – IPL 2026

Rajasthan Royals have won five of their first seven games in IPL 2026, after four straight victories, defeats to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, and a win over Lucknow Super Giants. In that last game they recovered from 77/5 to post 159 thanks to a lower-order contribution from Ravindra Jadeja, then bowled Lucknow out for 119. Jofra Archer took three wickets, with Nandre Burger and Brijesh Sharma taking two each.

Their strength is the opening pair. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has 254 runs in seven innings at a strike rate above 220, including 78 off 26 balls, though his form has dipped slightly lately. Yashasvi Jaiswal has 245 at an average of 49. Dhruv Jurel has 181 at number three, while captain Riyan Parag has 80 from seven innings. Archer and Ravi Bishnoi have 11 wickets each.

Sunrisers won only one of their first four but have since won three straight, over Rajasthan, CSK and Delhi Capitals. Abhishek Sharma hit 135 off 68 balls in the Delhi win as they made 242, and Eshan Malinga and Harsh Dubey shared seven wickets. Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan have also scored heavily, and Malinga leads the attack with 12 wickets, with Pat Cummins expected back. Our preview gives Sunrisers the slight edge.

Probable playing XI

Pitch report

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium surface is fairly balanced with a slight lean towards batters. It offers good bounce and carry early, so the powerplay is a time for shots, and totals of 170–190 have been common recently. The pitch can slow and turn two-paced later, which helps spinners and bowlers using cutters. Teams often prefer to chase here.

Weather

Evening temperatures are forecast at about 28–32°C at the start, dropping as the night goes on, with moderate humidity and a light breeze. The chance of rain is very low, so a full game is likely.

Expected scores

• 1st innings: 175–195
• 2nd innings: 165–185

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