Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016 Match 22 at Hyderabad: MS Dhoni and Co.’s likely XI

RPS, on the other hand, started off with a victory but failed to continue that and has received four consecutive defeats afterwards.

A confident Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in Match 22 of season nine of Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad on Tuesday. SRH, who started off with a defeat in their first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has got a great turnaround and are enjoying three back to back victories. RPS, on the other hand, started off with a victory but failed to continue that and has received four consecutive defeats afterwards. With this match, MS Dhoni would look to get things back on track and head towards the way to to play-offs. Here is the likely XI for Rising Pune Supergiants for the match. Live Cricket Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016, Match 22 at Hyderabad

Top-order: The RPS team has a pretty decent line-up with world-class players at top. With Faf du Plessis and Ajinkya Rahane opening the batting the Pune team are expected to get a terrific start. However, the only problem with the team is that they have failed to click together. While du Plessis started the season on a very positive note with a 34 and back to back half-centuries in the next two matches but failed to maintain the consistency afterwards. Ajinkya Rahane shone in the last two matches but could not find the proper support from the other side. The only match the two fired together was the one they won and that shows the necessity of both the batsmen taking charge at the same time. Though skipper Dhoni has mentioned that Kevin Pietersen’s injury came as a ‘blessing in disguise’ to the team, it leaves a void in the line-up that can hardly be fulfilled. With Steven Smith pushed up at No. 3 to carry forward the momentum provided by the top two, the top looks quite heavy.

Middle-order: With three powerful batsmen at top, certainly to maintain the flow, the skipper MS Dhoni should come out at No. 4. Dhoni is one of the most experienced players in the teams and is known for finishing matches in style. Dhoni is someone who can hit the bowler all over the park as well as anchor the innings and that is what makes him the perfect choice for the position. Following him, Thisara Perera can come out for slog hitting and quickfire runs while Saurabh Tiwary is also there for balance.

Bowlers: The pace attack of RPS depends upon Albie Morkel and Perera. The match is expected to be a high-scoring one and the bowlers will have to bowl economically to restrict the opponent. The spinners will be effective later towards the innings and that is when Murugan Ashwin, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ankit Sharma will come in handy. They also have Rajat Bhatia who has done very well in the previous match.

Rising Pune Supergiants likely XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Steven Smith, MS Dhoni (c & wk),Thisara Perera, Saurabh Tiwary, Rajat Bhatia, Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ankit Sharma, Murugan Ashwin

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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