Calculated approach meets aggression as PBKS go up against SRH

In another classic double-header, IPL’s latest Sunday will kickstart with a rollicking blockbuster between the Punjab Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. This will be a contest for the ages as two teams are high on newfound momentum and have been in the midst of some impeccable form.

Despite a slip up against the Gujarat Titans that came on the last ball of the match as Rahul Tewatia bundled his titanic effort into another planet, the Kings were right back on track as they took on an ailing Mumbai Indians.

It wasn’t an easy outing for sure but it was worth the wait as Odean Smith made amends for his howlers against the Titans, dishing out an impeccable final over that stayed witness to three scalps despite a six on the first ball of the over by Jaydev Unadkat.

The Sunrisers have managed to stage an excellent turnaround of events as after two losses on the bounce in the first two games, they have secured three consecutive wins and are flying high on confidence. They bested the Kolkata Knight Riders in a high-octane encounter as their batters chased down a mammoth 176 easily with 13 balls to spare.

It is a welcome sight for the Orange Army after two years of endless desperation where their batters have been in intimidating form. For the Kings, it is the classic old-school T20 strategy where they have eight massive strikers of the cherry and no matter how jeopardized the innings look for them, they just won’t stop striking.

This is going to be a signature clash of calculated aggression being pitted against some insane hammering where staying shut is a crime and going overboard with a chase or an attack is despised in equal measures.

Venue Watch:

The surface at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium has been n absolute belter for the batters and runs have been pretty easy to come by. Despite an inclination towards the bowlers in the middle games where RCB and KKR played out the lowest-scoring contest of the ongoing edition of the tournament, it is back to being conducive for the batters with some early assistance for the pacers. The first 4-5 overs will play in favour of the fast bowlers with the new ball as it would be moving around eminently. From thereon, it is going to be a batter’s showdown. With the game being an afternoon one, there won’t be any dew on the surface and it is needless to say that this negates the additional advantage that the chasers have so far managed in the tournament. Expect this to be a high-scoring affair given the resurgent batting form of the Sunrisers and the terrific strikers that Punjab has in their shed.

Squads:

Punjab Kings:

Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Sandeep Sharma, Atharva Taide, Vaibhav Arora, Ansh Patel, Raj Angad Bawa, Benny Howell, Rishi Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Nathan Ellis, Prerak Mankad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Kane Williamson (c), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Aiden Markram, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Saurabh Dubey, Shashank Singh, Sean Abbott, R Samarth, J Suchith, Romario Shepherd, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Match Details:

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings

Venue: Dr. DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Date: 17th April 2022

Time: 3:30 PM IST