IPL 2025 Preview: SunRisers Hyderabad Start Favourites, MI Target Lost Glory And DC Emerge As The Dark Horse

The 17^th edition of the IPL witnessed a mini-revolution in the T20 format where bat dominated ball like never before. Run rates soared, there were fours and sixes galore, 250-plus totals were chased down for fun and there was carnage in the powerplay and death overs. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)

The two teams which set the benchmark and triggered this assault on the bowlers made it to the final with KKR going on to lift their third title.

What does 2025 have in store? Will the destruction continue? Who are the this season? Will MI finally make a comeback and be a threat in this edition? What is ailing CSK and RCB and are DC the Dark Horse this year?

Explosive SRH start favourites

SRH have retained most of their core in the batting and their explosive line-up makes them the favourites in the competition. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma made minced meat of the opposition bowling unit last season and smashed 599 runs at a strike rate of 220 including three century partnerships! Both aggregated in excess of 400 runs at strike rates of 204 and 192! SRH had a run-rate of 11.17 – the highest in the powerplay – in 2024!

SRH라이브 바카라 middle-order is also quite formidable with the trio of Ishan Kishan, Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen – the last on this list is widely recognized as the best finisher in white-ball cricket! He had a strike rate of 238 in the last four overs last season.

The fast bowling trio of Mohammed Shami – who was the leading wicket-taker in the IPL between 2019 and 2023, Pat Cummins and Harshal Patel (last season라이브 바카라 Purple Cap holder) will be joined by the ranks of Adam Zampa and Rahul Chahar and that makes for a very potent bowling unit.

KKR – Over-Dependent on Narine & Russell

KKR do not have the same firepower both with the bat and ball this season which powered them to the title in 2024. There is no Phil Salt who blasted 435 runs at a strike rate of 182 and Quinton de Kock – his replacement - is past his prime in the format.

KKR will also miss Shreyas Iyer big-time at a time when he seems to be at his peak both as a leader and batter. The elevation of Ajinkya Rahane to captain and the inclusion of Manish Pandey may prove to be counter-productive for KKR.

Mitchell Starc will be their biggest miss with the new ball. He was the Player of the Match in both Qualifier 1 and the Final. However, KKR라이브 바카라 biggest trump card will be Varun Chakravarthy who is in red-hot form with the ball.

KKR need their two West Indian all-rounders – Sunil Narine and Andre Russell – to fire if they are to repeat their heroics from last year. While Narine provided the impetus with the bat in the powerplay, Russell returned with 19 wickets at a phenomenal strike rate of 9.2!

Can MI retain their lost glory?

MI have struggled and gone through a transformation after their successive triumphs in 2019 and 2020. They have made it to the playoffs just once in the last four seasons while finishing last in 2022 and 2024. However, having gone through this reformative period, MI have built a strong nucleus of its core players with some new exciting faces and may pose a threat this season.

The batting looks as threating as ever with Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Will Jacks and Hardik Pandya in a potential top 6. The famous duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult will reunite and create some magic with the new ball while Mitchell Santner is at his peak as a T20 bowler and will control the middle overs.

The big question for MI then is the fitness of  Bumrah – he was the bowler of the tournament last season with 20 dismissals at a strike rate of 15.5 and economy of 6.48! Bumrah is likely to miss the first three matches for MI and others need to step up till his return.

DC – the Dark Horse

Delhi Capitals have not made it to the playoffs in the last three seasons but seem to have enough firepower in their contingent this year to make a big impact on the tournament.

The decision to elevate Axar Patel as captain over KL Rahul may turn out to be a master-stroke as it could relieve the former LSG skipper of the burden of being a leader and leave him to focus only on his batting. Rahul has more often than not played within his comfort zone which has proven to be counter-productive for his franchise. This edition could see Rahul – the aggressor at his destructive best. He will be partnered by Jake Fraser-McGurk who blasted 330 runs at a scoring rate of 234 last season! Harry Brook라이브 바카라 withdrawal is a blow but that means an opportunity for Faf du Plessis in the middle-order.

The bowling looks lethal with Starc, T Natarajan and Mukesh Kumar leading the pace attack and Kuldeep Yadav and Axar in-charge of the spin unit. The Capitals have never won the IPL and this could just be their season!

Rajasthan Royals have a strong potential first XI and will fancy their chances of making the playoffs. Riyan Parag and Sanju Samson both aggregated above 500 runs at strike rates of around 150 in 2024 while Yashasvi Jaiswal has been the leading scorer for Royals in the last two seasons with an aggregate of 1060 runs at a strike rate of 160! Jofra Archer will lead the pace attack while the Sri Lankan pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga form a potent spin duo in the middle overs.

Chennai Super Kings have retained a number of veteran players who may be in the twilight of their careers – Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda to name a few. While this strategy of being the ‘Daddy Army’ has worked for them in the past, it might just prove to be counter-productive in this edition. Rachin Ravindra and Shivam Dube will be key for them in the top-order.

Punjab Kings have completely overhauled their contingent and in Shreyas Iyer have a confident leader who is also at the top of his game as a batter. However, the batting lacks a bit of pedigree. PBKS also do not have a world-class right-arm pacer.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have brought in Phil Salt to partner Virat Kohli at the top of the order but again look top-heavy and the lower-order is a concern. They also lack a top-class spinner which may haunt them this season.

Lucknow Super Giants have invested too much in their skipper, Rishabh Pant while not building their fast-bowling reserves – they lack a quality overseas pacer.

The Titans will rely heavily on their opening pairing of Jos Buttler – who has been in woeful form in 2025 – and Shubman Gill – to provide a rollicking start. However, the middle-order is a cause of worry with over-dependency on Glenn Phillips. They will also miss Shami big time with the new ball.