Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions, two teams with contrasting start to this year’s Indian Premier League, will lock horns at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad began their title defence in style with a comprehensive 35-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday (April 5) while Gujarat Lions found themselves on the receiving end of some brutal batting display by Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir of Kolkata Knight Riders.
In the first game of the season, the David Warner-led side began from where they had left in the last season as they blasted last year’s runners-up for a mammoth 207 for 4 before bowling them out on 172. The defending champions were looking settled in all the departments as they once again proved their title credentials. On the other hand, Gujarat Lions, who topped the tables in their inaugural season, were thrashed by 10 wickets by Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday (April 7). After posting 183, the Gujarat Lions bowlers failed to contain the dangerous Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir as they reached the target inside 15 overs.
David Warner’s men will surely begin the game high on a confidence against the team whose bowling is looking like a weak link. Barring Praveen Kumar other Gujarat Lions bowlers- Manpreet Gony, Shadab Bashir Jakati, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Koushik failed miserably against the KKR and the Gujarat-based outfit would be keen to include some quality overseas bowlers in the playing eleven. On the other hand, the bowling department of Sunrisers comprising the likes of Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan was looking stronger than ever. Batting department of both the sides is looking very much settled and another cracker of a match is expected.
Taking about injuries and absentees, Sunrisers will be missing Mustafizur Rahman as he has been reportedly advised to take a week off after the conclusion of the limited-overs series is Sri Lanka. Apart from that, they have a full squad to choose from. Gujarat Lions, meanwhile, will be missing the services of all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo. Jadeja has been spending some time away from the field after a gruelling home schedule while Bravo is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Here is a look at the how both the teams fared when they clashed against each other last year:
Head-to-head records: SRH 3-0 GL
Suresh Raina’s men are yet to taste success against the reigning IPL champions. In the last edition, David Warner’s men made light work of the Lions in all the three meetings.
In the first meeting, SRH thrashed GL by 10 wickets. Riding on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s brilliant spell of 4 for 29, SRH restricted Lions for a paltry 135 for 8 before half-centuries from David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan guided them to a 10-wicket win.
In the next meeting, the Hyderabad-based outfit came out on top again as they registered a comfortable 5-wicket win after restricting GL to only 126 for 6.
SRH continued their winning streak in the second qualifier too when they beat Suresh Raina’s men by 4 wickets to make it to their maiden final.
Recent form:
W- SRH won their opening against RCB by 35 runs.
L- GL lost their season-opener against KKR by 10-wickets.
Talking points:
The top-order of both the teams is looking strong and settled. Both the teams will be missing some key players during the match. SRH will miss Mustafizur but the presence of Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will surely fill the void. On the other hand, GL will miss Jadeja and Bravo and they do not have any players who can replace them. But after the way their bowlers failed in the first match, they might include James Faulkner or Andrew Tye in the playing eleven.
Predicted XI of Sunrisers Hyderabad:
They are very much likely to go in with the same combination which registered the impressive win against RCB.
David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Bipul Sharma, Rashid Khan, Ashish Nehra.