Published: Apr 04, 2013, 01:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 04, 2013, 01:09 PM (IST)
By Devarchit Varma
Hyderabad: Apr 4, 2013
The new-look Sunrisers Hyderabad will begin their Indian Premier League campaign against the Angelo Mathews-led Pune Warriors India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad on Friday.
While the newly-inducted outfit in the cash-rich IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad, would be looking to draw inspiration from their predecessors Deccan Chargers’s win in the second edition of the league, the Pune Warriors would like to make amends from their poor last season and start afresh.
The Sunrisers will indeed feel the absence of maverick Kiwi all-rounder Jesse Ryder, who joined the Delhi Daredevils, but the presence of the West Indies skipper Darren Sammy, South African Quinton de Kock, Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera and Kiwi star Nathan McCullum will boost their chances in the sixth edition of the T20 league.
The Hyderabad-based franchise has a strong Indian contingent, having the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Hanuma Vihari and a few more, which would help them field a well-balanced team.
The pace attack would be led by the South African speedster Dale Steyn, ably supported by Ishant, Ashish Reddy and Anand Rajan.
The Sunrisers would be led by Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara, who is the mainstay of their batting.
On the other hand, Sahara-owned Pune Warriors would like to forget their disastrous run in the last season, where they finished at the bottom of the points table. The Pune Warriors could manage only four wins in 16 matches in IPL 5 and lost 12 matches – a record they would certainly like to improve.
The absence of the Michael Clarke would certainly hurt Pune, but with Yuvraj Singh going into the tournament without the burden of captaincy gives him an ideal platform to play freely and give his best to the side, who stood by his side through his recovery from the rare germ cell cancer last year.
Handing Mathews the responsibility is a positive decision by the Pune management, as the 25-year-old all-rounder was named the captain of the Sri Lankan team only a few months ago. Indeed, Mathews will be chuffed to take on an opposition led by Sangakkara on the other side.
Pune’s bowling department do lack a seasoned pacer, but this should not stop them from fancying their chances with Indian seamers Ashok Dinda and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, South African Wayne Parnell, Australians Mitchell Marsh and Kane Richardson.
The spin department looks strong, boasting of the likes of Ajantha Mendis, Rahul Sharma, Jammu and Kashmir’s Parveez Rasool, Yuvraj, Steven Smith and star West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels.
The one factor which gives Pune an edge over all their opponents in the tournament is the presence of many all-rounders, such as Abhishek Nayar, Smith, Luke Wright, Shrikant Wagh, Yuvraj and the skipper Mathews himself.
Ross Taylor and Aaron Finch would boost Pune’s batting, along with the Indian batsmen such as Manish Pandey, Mithun Manhas, Harpreet Singh, Dheeraj Jadhav and a few more.
Both the sides will hope that the change in leadership and management helps them to climb the ladder this season. The Sunrisers have a new owner along with Tom Moody as head coach, Waqar Younis as bowling coach while VVS Laxman and Kris Srikkanth as their mentors.
Sourav Ganguly isn’t with the Pune Warriors any more, and South African Allan Donald has been promoted to the job of the head coach.
It is a new season and a fresh start for both sides — one they would like to capitalise on.
Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Probable): Kumar Sangakkara (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Hanuma Vihari, Cameron White, Darren Sammy, Anand Rajan, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Dale Steyn, Sudeep Tyagi.
Pune Warriors India (Probable): Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Abhishek Nayar, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor, Steven Smith, Angelo Mathews (c), Ashok Dinda, Shrikant Wagh, Ajanta Mendis, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Time: 20.00 IST | 14.30 GMT
(Devarchit Varma is a cricket fanatic who finds nothing more exciting to do than to write, watch or talk about the sport. Having played the game at club and college level, he now pursues his passion as a scribe)
