Two former IPL champions, Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals will play each other in the second game of the tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Hyderabad.

While Deccan Chargers have seen a turnaround in the team that they have picked, from the one that they had in the previous editions, Rajasthan Royals have managed to stick to their core. The Chargers will be led by former Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara while Royals maintain their continuity by having Shane Warne as their captain again.

Deccan v Rajasthan odds:
On paper, one needs to point out that the Royals (11/8 at Coral) have picked up a side which probably does not look to be made for T20 cricket. Warne has been an excellent captain but with Shane Watson out on tour of Bangladesh, he will need to rely heavily on the second-rung Indian players. The Chargers (4/6 at William Hill), on the other hand, have Sangakkara leading a reasonably balanced side. The absence of Cameron White and Kevin Pietersen will be a factor though.

Ground and Pitch:
It will be hard and should have bounce at the stadium in Uppal but more importantly, it will be the dry heat of Hyderabad that could be a factor in this game that begins at 4.00 pm. Expect a lot of runs to be scored in this game. 

Player News:
Pietersen will miss the entire tournament, while White is with the Australian side on the tour of Bangladesh, which will translate into the onus on the captain Sangakkara (11/4 at bet365) to continue with his good batting form. He was one of the leading run-getters in the World Cup and will look to continue getting those big ones. The other batsman who will get a look-in will be JP Duminy (9/2 at Stan James), even as the rest of the batting will consist of Indian domestic players.

Rajasthan have strengthened their side by getting Jacob Oram (14/1 at Coral) in place of Paul Collingwood, but it is the middle-order that requires a look. The combination of Rahul Dravid (4/1 at Coral) and Ross Taylor (3/1 at William Hill) will be crucial to the side’s fortunes, especially in the absence of a strong starter at the top of the innings. Akash Chopra (4/1 at Paddy Power) may get a game as the opener to play a foil to the more aggressive Swapnil Asnodkar (9/2 at Coral).

Prediction:
The reason why it is difficult to predict the winner this early in the competition is because both teams have relatively new players. However, the sense that I get is that the Rajasthan Royals (11/8 at Coral) will scrape through in this one given that they have quite a few who have played together before. It also behoves me to say that Warne has had much more time to plan this one than his opposition captain who was busy till April 2 leading Sri Lanka in the World Cup and followed it up with his resignation from captaincy the next day.