Match #23, SRH Vs PBKS, IPL 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings have had contrasting IPL journeys, with the Sunrisers demonstrating a new batting strategy and the Punjab Kings suffering with their bowling.
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings have had similar success in the IPL, with the Sunrisers having the second-quickest batting squad in powerplays and the second-worst bowling in death overs. Their success is largely caused by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma’s achievements at the top.
Since October 2023, Abhishek Sharma has amassed 101 boundaries in 326 balls, ranking him as the second-highest scorer in the IPL. He has smashed sixes every five balls in this IPL, demonstrating the great returns that his strategies have brought. With an average of 46, he has hit 101 boundaries in 14 innings.
The Kings’ bowlers will need to up their game significantly. They would hope that their international bowlers, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshal Patel, do better in the death overs. The Kings will take full advantage of their home advantage to move up the points table in their upcoming four games, which are all scheduled to take place in Mullanpur.
Team Watch: Punjab Kings (PBKS)
In the spotlight
Arshdeep Singh rose to prominence in the IPL mainly due to his powerful swing and fearless death-bowling ability. However, his death-bowling heroics have decreased during the last few seasons. He failed to take more than four wickets in IPL 2022, despite being economical (7.58) during that period. And when he took 7 wickets at the death in IPL 2023, he conceded 9.50 runs per over. This IPL has been even worse, with only one wicket and an economy rate of 11.70 in 20 balls. Will the real Arshdeep please stand?
Team news and impact player strategy
Kings were missing Liam Livingstone in their last game due to injury. He was replaced by Sikandar Raza, who failed to make an impression with either the bat or the ball against the Gujarat Titans. Livingstone started training with the club on Monday but is still being examined. Kings have consistently substituted Arshdeep Singh with a batter such as Prabhsimran Singh, or vice versa.
Injury and availability
A final decision on Liam Livingstone, who missed PBKS’ last game, will be made on game day, according to the team’s assistant coach, Brad Haddin.
Tactics and Match-ups
Travis Head has been a PowerPlay beast this IPL, scoring at a strike rate of more than 210, but his performances against spin have dropped significantly, with two dismissals in four games and a strike rate of only 81.25. Expect Punjab to take advantage of this vulnerability and add spin early to knock out the threat on a low bounce surface.
Probable XI
Shikhar Dhawan (C), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Liam Livingstone/Sikandar Raza, Prabhsimran Singh, and Shashank Singh [Singh Arshdeep for Impact]
Team Watch: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
In the spotlight
Pat Cummins was formerly a powerplay enforcer with the ball for the Kolkata Knight Riders, registering a lot of runs, but a change of role in a new squad has helped him improve his numbers. He is currently bowling a lot more in the middle overs (7-16), giving only 7.75 runs per over, his second-best economy rate since his first IPL season in 2014. If he can keep up his current form, the Sunrisers will be quite pleased.
Team news and impact player strategy
Sunrisers’ Impact Player approach involves swapping top-order hitters like Head, Abhishek, and Agarwal with frontline quicks like Natarajan or Umran Malik. However, in one game, allrounder Washington Sundar was called in when batting first after scoring 114 for 5. Agarwal’s fitness for Tuesday remains unknown.
Injury and availability
Mayank Agarwal, who was unable to play in Hyderabad’s most recent match due to illness, could return to the squad after resuming training.
Tactics and Match-ups
Punjab’s opener, Jonny Bairstow, has struggled this season and will face Pat Cummins, who has had success against English hitters in Twenty20. Bairstow has also struggled with left-arm spin, losing five wickets in the IPL. SRH may have to rely on Abhishek Sharma, who opened the bowling against CSK in the previous match.
Probable XI
Travis Head, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Abdul Samad, Mayank Agarwal/Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (C), Abhishek Sharma, Adien Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), and [Sub Jaydev Unadkat, Impact]
Pitch and conditions
The Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Mullanpur will host only its second IPL game. In the opening game, the Kings defeated the Delhi Capitals by chasing down 175. The spinners did not leak as many runs as the quicks that night, but it has been more than two weeks, and conditions may have altered.
Did you know?
- Dhawan and Bairstow have both been SRH players in the past. Bairstow has 1038 out of 1372 (75.66%) runs scored for the SRH, whereas Dhawan has 2518 runs (37.39%).
- Liam Livingstone needs 89 more runs to get 1000 runs in the IPL, while Aiden Markram needs 98.
- T. Natarajan will participate in his 50th IPL match if chosen.
Stats that matter
- Cummins has a dominating record against both Dhawan and Bairstow. Cummins has dismissed both batsmen twice in 25 balls, allowing 16 runs to Bairstow and 31 to Dhawan, respectively.
- Dhawan might be better off going after Jaydev Unadkat, against whom he has scored 70 runs off 44 balls in the IPL while being removed only once.
- The Sunrisers have a 14-7 record versus the Kings, with the highest victory percentage (66.67%) of any team.
- Klaasen (204.85) and Abhishek (217.56) are two Sunrisers batters with strike rates of 200 or higher in 2024 (minimum 100 runs). Prabhsimran Singh has the greatest strike rate among Kings players at 161.53.
When
PBKS vs SRH, 23rd Match, April 9 at 19:30 hours
Where
Mullanpur, Chandigarh’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium
Head-to-Head
Having defeated the Punjab Kings 14-7 in their last 21 meetings, SRH has a commanding lead. The last five encounters between the two have been close, with Punjab winning two and SRH winning three. When SRH and Punjab faced one another in Hyderabad in 2023, SRH easily won by 8 wickets.
What to expect
Since the 2023 season, the Pacers have had far better success at Mullanpur in Twenty20 cricket. In ten matches, they have claimed 87 wickets versus 33 for spin, which was not quite the case in the one IPL match played there so far.
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