Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2016, Match 18 at Hyderabad, Preview: KXIP look to get back on track

SRH have so far won two and lost two of their four games in the tournament, while KXIP have won only one match.

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match 18 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad. SRH have so far been in a decent form winning two and losing two of their four games in the tournament, while KXIP have disappointed their fans winning only one match out of the four they have played. In their fifth game, while SRH will look to maintain the winning run with a third consecutive win, KXIP will try hard to get two points with the second win in the tournament. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2016, MatcH 18 at Hyderabad

SRH took time to understand where their strength lies in but got themselves back on track by winnig their last two matches after being handed defeats in their first couple of matches of the tournament. In the first match, though Mustafizur Rahman did a good job with the ball, the rest of the bowling attack failed and leaked runs to help opponents Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) reach a massive score, which they failed to chase. The only positive in the entire tournament has been was the form of their skipper David Warner, who has led the team from the front scoring three half-centuries in the four matches. It was his solo effort during the chase in the first match that went in vain. The team’s weakness is their over-dependence of the team on likes of  Warner with the bat in the top-order but what comes as a good news is his partner Shikhar Dhawan seemed to have gotten his lost touch back courtesy of an unbeaten fifty in the previous match against Gujarat Lions (GL).

Despite losing frontline bowler Ashish Nehra, the team has managed to put up decent bowling performance. Mustafizur, who was already in a very good touch, is joined by Barinder Sran and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The team, with hitters like Dhawan, Warner, Eoin Morgan and a bowling attack with much talent and potential, the team looks ready to take on any opponent.

Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, look a bit messy. The only consistent part of the line-up has been the openers, who have unfailing kept on performing match after match. There are names like David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh who are known for their hard-hitting abilities and have failed to shine in this season so far. Another problem is with Marcus Stoinis, who performed decently in the Big Bash League (BBL) this season opening for Melbourne Stars but cannot find a place in KXIP opening slot.

Their bowlers too have been inconsistent as  Mohit Sharma, after a terrific performance against Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), leaked a lot of runs in the next match at the same ground. The bowlers have failed to read the pitch of their home ground. The consistent performer for the team over years, Sandeep Sharma,  who has also failed to exhibit any spectacle. The team requires improvement in both the departments to win the next against SRH, who look unstoppable at the moment.

Squads:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Ashish Reddy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bipul Sharma, Karn Sharma, KL Rahul, Naman Ojha (wk), Parvez Rasool, Ricky Bhui, Shikhar Dhawan, Siddharth Kaul, David Warner (c), Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Deepak Hooda, Mustafizur Rahman, Aditya Tare (wk), Barinder Sran, Ben Cutting, Vijay Shankar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Tirumalasetti Suman.

Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, David Miller (c), Manan Vohra, Murali Vijay, Nikhil Naik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Akshar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Johnson, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Kyle Abbott, KC Cariappa, Marcus Stoinis, Farhaan Behardien, Pradeep Sahu, Armaan Jaffer, Swapnil Singh.

(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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