SRH vs PBKS: The big picture
SRH vs PBKS: Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings hold a little advantage over the other teams in terms of NRR among the half-dozen teams now deadlocked at six points each in IPL 2022. On the strength of a hat-trick of victories, Hyderabad is anticipated to do much better in the Sunday (April 17) double-header against Punjab, who has bounced between highs and lows so far.
A fresh new look at the cornerstone of Punjab’s early success has been their intent-filled batting style. They stacked their top half with a mix of power-hitters, including Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, and Jonny Bairstow, as well as Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, and Odean Smith, who combine experience, reputation, and muscle. This aggressive approach has paid off, with PBKS scoring 180 points or more in four of their five games thus far.
By their own admission, Hyderabad took some time to adjust, but the reversal has been phenomenal since then. They’ve put the disappointment of their first two losses behind them and picked up key points against two of their arch-rivals, CSK and KKR. The bowling unit has gelled beautifully, marshaled superbly by their canny captain, led by T Natarajan, who has been equally good with the new ball and at death, even in the injury-forced absence of Washington Sundar. Marco Jansen has been a revelation, with his variations challenging even the greatest batters.
SRH vs PBKS: Match details
When: April 17th, 3:30 p.m. IST
Where: Mumbai’s Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy
What to expect: Afternoon begins will bring much hotter conditions, but dew will not be as prevalent.
Also Read: IPL 2022: RR vs KKR Match 30 Prediction
Compare and Contrast
PBKS SRH 18-6 Although Hyderabad’s overwhelming dominance is undeniable, the two teams have met eight times since 2018, with each squad winning evenly.
SRH vs PBKS: Team-wise tactics
Punjab Kings
Captain Williamson’s bad starts (63 runs and 3 dismissals) have been a common denominator in SRH’s slow start in powerplay this year, a weakness Punjab will want to exploit with the new ball as well.
Arshdeep Singh, who has already bowled three key 18th overs this season against well-set hitters for a total of 13 runs (3 vs RCB, 5 each vs GT & MI), will be crucial at the death for Punjab’s bowling, which has been on the expensive side.
Probable XI: Shahrukh Khan, Odeon Smith, Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora
Sunrisers Hyderabad
T Natarajan had only three PowerPlay wickets in 22 overs in the previous IPL season, but he’s already picked up four in this period this year. How he performs with the new ball against Punjab’s gung-ho batting strategy – a squad that presently has the highest run rate (10.17) and boundary percentage (25.6%) in powerplays – will be crucial for Hyderabad.
Probable XI: Shashank Singh, J Suchith, Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (C), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T Natarajan
SRH vs PBKS: Trivia
-Kane Williamson has won all five tosses for Punjab, while Mayank Agarwal hasn’t won one since the team’s first match against RCB.
– Punjab has four of the seven Powerplay totals of 60 or more in this IPL.
– Rahul Tripathi’s tournament strike rate of 178.13 is the highest among top-three batsmen.
