Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be in a pretty happy space following their victory against the reigning champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium, as they will clash with Kings XI Punjab
However, there are several areas of concern for the former champions. On the Wankhede surface which is a high scoring venue, Hyderabad managed to score just 118 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
In fact, they failed to play out the full quota of 20 overs and were bundled out in the penultimate over of the innings.
But, the bowlers were simply superb who bowled in the right areas. They never allowed Mumbai to get on top despite scoring a reasonable total on the board.
It will surely be bright signs for Hyderabad given the fact that the victory came sans Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been their spearhead for the last three editions.
Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has mentioned that they wanted to but a like for like replacements for the top players.
In the case of Bhuvneshwar, it has been Siddharth Kaul, who is considered as his like for like replacement.
The youngster has performed brilliantly so far. Even in the previous encounter, it was his exceptional spell of three for 23 which eventually helped Hyderabad register a comprehensive victory by 31 runs.
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Kaul and Rashid Khan were the wreckers-in-chief for Hyderabad. The duo bagged five wickets between them conceding only 34 runs.
Despite their exceptional bowling performance, their batting hasn’t been at their best in the tournament so far. They have been overly reliant on Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Kane Williamson.
The form of Manish Pandey will be a major concern for Hyderabad as he is one of their pillars in the middle order. However, he has failed to prove his potential in this tournament so far.
Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, has played some terrific brand of cricket so far. They are in the top-two list of the points table with five victories from six encounters alongside Chennai Super Kings.
The top order looks settled for Punjab. The likes of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul have got them off to sensational starts on most of the occasions.
Rahul has been a class apart so far. In the very first match, he smashed the fastest half-century in Vivo IPL 11.
Gayle ever since making his debut for the new franchise has looked in sublime touch. He has literally toyed with the opposition batting line-up.
The southpaw missed the previous encounter due to a stiff back but is likely to return for Hyderabad clash. Gayle has already scored a century in the tournament so far and further went on to register two half-centuries.
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The bowling department of Punjab has also done the job when required.
In Ravichandran Ashwin, they found an able captain who has done his business brilliantly so far. Most of his moves have worked so far.
Mujeeb ur Rahman, the Afghan spinner has been a standout performer for Punjab with the ball.
The fast bowling department has also been quite effective. Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, and Ankit Rajpoot will again look to dismantle the Hyderabad top order once they meet in the 25th match of the competition.
Team Combinations –
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
The absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be a concern for Hyderabad. However, the other bowlers have made sure that his absence is not felt at least for now.
The former champions are expected to retain the same XI which won against the Mumbai Indians.
Afghan all-rounder Mohammed Nabi, who played his first match of the competition should be given at least one more match before opting for someone else.
Predicted XI: Lokesh Rahul (wk), Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Kings XI Punjab
Gayle is expected to make a return to the playing XI. Punjab had an optional training session on Tuesday (April 25). Ashwin won’t be bothered to tinker with the winning combination much barring the return of Universal Boss Chris Gayle.
Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul
Match Prediction:
Hyderabad has a clear edge over Punjab in the head-to-head department.
Out of the 11 matches played between the two teams so far, Hyderabad has won 8 while Punjab has returned only to win on three occasions.
However, despite their dismal run against Hyderabad, I am backing Kings XI Punjab to win today’s clash.
The visitors have some exceptional match winners and might start changing the trend against Hyderabad.
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