It would have been a real battle of the heavyweights, the continuation of a brilliant final last year, but with the Royal Challengers Bangalore suffering one injury after another, the Sunrisers Hyderabad will start as the favourites in this IPL 2017 opener on Wednesday.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is expected to be filled to capacity, and even if the visiting RCB team might be shorn of the likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and AB De Villiers, this match should still have plenty of entertainment value.
Live blog of the opening match HERE
First of all, there is the home team's captain – David Warner – who revels in this format and is coming off a ridiculously-good IPL season last time out.
Then there is a certain Chris Gayle, who, when on form, is the best batsman to watch, with the crowd, always engaged, as the sixes rain into the stands.
There is also the brilliant bowling lineup that SRH have, led by India's two pacers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashish Nehra, with the likes of Rashid Khan set to lend plenty of assistance, even if Mustafizur "The Fizz" Rahman and his cutters will be missed.
The man who will be nervous and yet desperate to get onto the field and do the business will be Tymal Mills, who will be under pressure after RCB bought the left-arm pacer for a massive Rs 12 crore ($1.84 million).
There will also be a certain India veteran who will also have some nerves, but will also want to bring his steely determination out as he tries to get back amongst the runs and with it force the selectors to pick him for the ICC Champions Trophy.
The beginning of an IPL season is always filled with expectations and the hope that we get to see some ridiculous shots, some brilliant bowling and even better catching and fielding.
There are no two better teams to define what this IPL 2017 season is going to be better than SRH and RCB.
Superstar(s) missing or not, when these two teams get out in the middle come 8pm local time, expect some fireworks, and then some.
What the SRH coach Tom Moody said:
"T20 cricket is a level playing field regardless of the team suffering with injury blows. We certainly have got huge respect for RCB.
"It is going to be a difficult match for us regardless of the fact that we beat them in the final or that they are missing out on key players due to injuries. At the end of the day, you have just 120 balls with bat and ball and it is down to small margins. We have to make sure we get everything right on the night to secure a first up win."
When and where to watch live
SRH vs RCB is set to begin at 8pm IST (3.30pm BST). TV and live streaming information is below.
India: TV: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Max. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
International: Live Streaming: Cricketgateway.
