The game on Thursday will witness a clash between two well-balanced teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab, who both are coming off a victory respectively.
Kane Williamson’s side has been invincible in the tournament so far and predictably will get back to the top of the points table even after playing a game lesser than Kolkata Knight Riders.
Here’s the predicted XI for the Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Shikhar Dhawan:
Shikhar Dhawan has ensured that David Warner is not missed owing to the top order slot, as he going through a parallel purple patch.
Since the One-day International series against South Africa, Dhawan has shown consistency at an aggressive strike rate.
Wriddhiman Saha:
Wriddhiman Saha at the opening position provided the initial blows when they faced Knight Riders at his home ground.
Saha scored 24 off just 15 balls, which consisted of five boundaries. He will be the best used in the lineup in the opening slot along with Dhawan.
Kane Williamson:
Kane Williamson has led his troops clinically, by winning all their games in the ongoing eleventh season.
The Kiwis star has used only five bowlers in all their matches of the season, without any need for a sixth or seventh bowler.
Also, he would enjoy the conditions of Mohali while taking the guard at No. 3.
Manish Pandey:
Manish Pandey, in the two outings so far, has not got his IPL going. Perhaps, the heavy price tag on him has played into the head of the Indian Twenty20 International specialist.
His Karnataka counterparts at KXIP have already had a couple of valuable outings in the form of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Karun Nair.
Shakib Al Hasan:
Shakib Al Hasan will be relieved, after frustratingly sitting out of the previous season while representing KKR. However, the star all-rounder has found a responsible role at Sunrisers, which they missed last season.
It is funny how things fall into places like a missing jigsaw puzzle in IPL cricket.
Quick read: IPL 2018: Mohammed Shami Cleared to Join Daredevils After a Three-hour Interrogation
Deepak Hooda:
Deepak Hooda did not have much to do with the bat after the nerve-racking match against Mumbai Indians.
The young all-rounder Hooda held one end up while wickets kept tumbling at the other end – to play one of the best knocks so far in the tournament.
Yusuf Pathan:
Yusuf Pathan played one of his trademark knocks to throw the knockout punch at his former team, Knight Riders who decided not to used their Right To Match (RTM) card.
Pathan entertained the crowd with a couple of fours and a maximum, to finish the game in style for the side.
Much like their bowling, their batting lineup appears fixed and deep.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming in at number eight tells us a thing or two about the balance of the side. The A+ graded player in the national fold is already on the leaderboard of the tournament even having missed one game.
The experienced bowler ended up with three wickets in the match against KKR, continuing to show his wicket-taking abilities in all formats of the game.
Rashid Khan:
Rashid Khan yet again was economical in his overs, bowling like a machine specializing in accuracy. It was only recently that he bowled 18 dot balls out of his 24-ball spell.
Rashid will be looking forward to taking a few more wickets in the upcoming matches.
Billy Stanlake:
Billy Stanlake thrived on the bowler-friendly wicket at Eden Gardens, where the home side struggled to cope up with his 150kph rockets at steep bounce delivered from more than seven feet.
Stanlake had a couple of wickets to show for at a ridiculous economy of 5.25.
Siddharth Kaul:
Siddarth Kaul is the death-over specialist along with Bhuvneshwar at the other end, as both are exponents of the deadly knuckle-ball.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kaul has turned out to be a sensation with his vintage headband look, bringing back memories of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee.
Also Read: IPL 2018: I Felt Our Intensity Was a Little Bit Down – Ajinkya Rahane