🏏IPL 2025 - Match 2: RR vs SRH, 23 March 2025 @ 3:30 PM IST🏏 - Page 7

Travis Head: Feels good to be back, seen some pretty good moments last year. Fingers crossed that it can happen early season again to get that momentum that we had. I’m enjoying the fact that Abhi (Abhishek Sharma) has had a really good 12 months, he’s got a lot better than last year and done extremely well on the International stage. Looking forward to supporting him again, and I think he’s going to have a huge year once again. Hopefully I start well too. It is just about continuing the messaging that we had last year, the relaxed environment we wanted and the expectation that someone will have their day. Pat (Cummins) and Dan (Vettori) bring a relaxed vibe. There is no expectation from one person to do it, it is a team effort. We’ve got a lot of experience with bat and ball, so early stages it is all about getting that continuity and consistency. I’ve trained well the last 3 days, but these games are brutal and nothing is guaranteed. Let’s hope we start well.

Pitch Report | Mpumelelo Mbangwa and Michael Clarke: "Dimensions - 63m and 70m square boundaries, 76m straight down the ground. 205 is the average score here and on this particular pitch, the average is 216. The only way to describe it is batting paradise. It's an absolute belter once again and has been for a long period of time. The only thing and I am clutching at straws, both ends it looks a little bit dry, there's a tiny bit more grass in the middle of the wicket compared to the ends. I am hoping for a little bit of two-pace, a little bit of spin, so it's not an absolute belter. This heat, this pitch, you want to be a batsman. If you bat first here, you gotta be looking above 200 and then you look to defend. In a 20-over game, it's very hard to see the pitch deteriorate but you hope it does. Maybe a bit of change of pace, maybe a little bit more spin bowling second. High-scoring that's all we can say."

Pitch Report | Mpumelelo Mbangwa and Michael Clarke: "Dimensions - 63m and 70m square boundaries, 76m straight down the ground. 205 is the average score here and on this particular pitch, the average is 216. The only way to describe it is batting paradise. It's an absolute belter once again and has been for a long period of time. The only thing and I am clutching at straws, both ends it looks a little bit dry, there's a tiny bit more grass in the middle of the wicket compared to the ends. I am hoping for a little bit of two-pace, a little bit of spin, so it's not an absolute belter. This heat, this pitch, you want to be a batsman. If you bat first here, you gotta be looking above 200 and then you look to defend. In a 20-over game, it's very hard to see the pitch deteriorate but you hope it does. Maybe a bit of change of pace, maybe a little bit more spin bowling second. High-scoring that's all we can say."

14:45 Local Time, 09:15 GMT, 14:45 IST: "Good afternoon from Hyderabad," pings Prakash Govindasreen - our correspondent from the stadium. "Akash Madhwal the first to mark his run up on the main pitch while Jofra jogs in and bowls on the side. Zampa is here now, doing some sprints while Harshal and Shami bowl on the side wicket. Looks like wide yorker practice for Harshal. He bowled one right on the marker and got applause from bowling coach James Franklin. Farooqi and Shami have marked their run-ups too."

Travis Head: Feels good to be back, seen some pretty good moments last year. Fingers crossed that it can happen early season again to get that momentum that we had. I’m enjoying the fact that Abhi (Abhishek Sharma) has had a really good 12 months, he’s got a lot better than last year and done extremely well on the International stage. Looking forward to supporting him again, and I think he’s going to have a huge year once again. Hopefully I start well too. It is just about continuing the messaging that we had last year, the relaxed environment we wanted and the expectation that someone will have their day. Pat (Cummins) and Dan (Vettori) bring a relaxed vibe. There is no expectation from one person to do it, it is a team effort. We’ve got a lot of experience with bat and ball, so early stages it is all about getting that continuity and consistency. I’ve trained well the last 3 days, but these games are brutal and nothing is guaranteed. Let’s hope we start well.

Manohar: "SRH makes 279 for 4, wins by 70 runs, Ishan makes century" --- The prediction ball has got rolling...

David: "In T20 cricket, my feeling is that while Pat Cummins the bowler is still important, pat Cummins the batsman is underrated." --- Indeed! Three years ago, he got a 14-ball fifty in the IPL, at the time a record in the tournament

Aaj mereko yaad raha

Toh abhi koyi ceremony hue he nahi

I hope raat wali miss na ho

Thanks you Raji for the tag

Krishna Sumanth: "The 300 vibe is set at the stadium... it is a sea of orange at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium here."

Ye 300 sun sun ke, 100 me all out na ho jai SRH wale.

Cheers..