Published: Apr 23, 2016, 07:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 23, 2016, 02:37 AM (IST)
Sunrisers Hyderabad handed Gujarat Lions their first-ever defeat of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016, thrashing them by a comfortable margin of 10 wickets in their previous match. David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan scored fifties each, which helped them chase 136 without any hiccups. SRH will be delighted to have Dhawan back in form as he was the weak link in their batting line-up till now. SRH bowlers too have stepped up their game a notch as the tournament has progressed. They seem to have a settled unit at the moment and do not need to make many changes to their side. Let’s have a look at what their playing XI in their match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Full Cricket Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings Xi Punjab, IPL 2016, Match 18 at Hyderabad
Top-order: Warner and Dhawan played magnificently in the previous match and they will want to continue their good run of form in this match as well. KXIP have not been in good form, winning just one out of their four games so far and as a result lay at the bottom of the points table. Warner and Dhawan will look to make use of their poor run of form with the ball and will once again want to get SRH off to a good start. SRH have shown a lot of faith in Moises Henriques at the No. 3 spot, but he has not delivered in that position yet. They may consider sending the likes of Aditya Tare in that position, who can be a handy pinch hitter. It can be a toss up between Eoin Morgan and Henriques to bat at No. 4, depending on the situation.
Middle-order: The middle-order has not been tested much yet as Warner is the one, who has done most of the scoring. Morgan will be key in the middle-order. He is the second highest run-getter for SRH after Warner. He hit a crucial half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in SRH’s second match of the tournament. He is among the most senior players in the side and will have to shoulder a lot of responsibility if SRH lose a couple of early wickets.
Deepak Hooda is no mug with the bat, which he proved in the previous edition of IPL. He along with Naman Ojha will be entrusted to close the innings with a few lusty blows, if they get a chance.
Bowlers: SRH surely will not want to replace anyone from their bowling department. They did an exceptional job against GL in the previous match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 4 for 29. Barinder Sran did take a bit of stick, but he will be given another go, given his ability to bowl well in the death. Batsmen have now become a touch cautious when it comes to playing Mustafizur Rahman and as a result of which they do not score much against him. He has been economical in this tournament and if he manages to pick up a wicket here and there, it is a bonus for his side.
Slow left-armer Bipul Sharma bowled just a couple of overs against GL, but he is accurate and can slow the game down a bit. He has just played a couple of games in the tournament so far and will be raring to go, if given a chance. Hooda’s off-spinners too will come in handy, if the captain needs to go through some quite overs.
Sunrisers Likely XI: David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Aditya Tare, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman, Bipul Sharma, Barinder Sran.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
