Punjab Kings will look to capitalize on the momentum they gained from their shashank Singh-inspired jailbreak, which gave their struggling campaign some much-needed life. On Tuesday (April 9), they kick off a four-match home leg against the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Although their bowling prowess has been the main factor in their success in the last several years, SRH’s batting brilliance in the IPL 2024 is turning attention. Out of the ten teams, SRH has the best batting PowerPlay figures, striking at an average of 11.66 throughout the phase. With a brilliant display of a sustained attack on a bowling attack, SRH defeated the defending champions by six wickets to post the highest IPL total ever against Mumbai Indians (277/3). This helped them maintain a healthy NRR of +0.409, which is only second behind CSK among the four teams trying to break out of that mid-table deadlock. The next opponent they face is one of them.
For PBKS, hovering about the middle of the points table is an uncomfortable place to be. They have lost two of their first three road games in the competition, so they haven’t been the best, but their most recent game’s comeback win over Gujarat Titans has crossed a few boxes. At least towards the close of their innings, Shashank has given PBKS’ batting a much-needed boost. This is in addition to the meagre contributions of Sam Curran and Prabhsimran Singh, as well as an unsatisfactory opening partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Aaron Finch.
Nevertheless, Punjab’s two main worries are less serious than the batting order irregularity. Their incapacity to hold teams in death overs requires prompt treatment. With an economy rate of 12.65 in overs 17–20, PBKS is only second lowest in the league, behind Delhi Capitals. Known for their prowess in the death overs, Arshdeep Singh hasn’t been as sharp as Harshal Patel in the four matches played thus far. If the Kings were to contain the potent SRH, Kagiso Rabada and Harpreet Brar—who have been their finest bowlers in terms of pace and spin—would be in dire need of assistance at the other end of the field.
When: April 9 at 19:30 PBKS vs. SRH, 23rd match
Where: Mullanpur, Chandigarh’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium
Anticipation: The Pacers have been far more successful in T20 cricket at Mullanpur since the 2023 season, taking 87 wickets against 33 in 10 matches. This was not the case in the one IPL encounter played at the stadium thus far.
Head-to-head: With a 14-7 record versus Punjab Kings in 21 matches, SRH has an overwhelming advantage. The last five encounters between the two have been close, with Punjab winning two and SRH winning three. When SRH and Punjab faced one other in Hyderabad in 2023, SRH easily prevailed by 8 wickets.
Teams observe
Kings of Punjab
Injury/Unavailability: Assistant coach Brad Haddin of PBKS announced that a decision about Liam Livingstone, who was absent from the team’s previous game, will be made on game day.
Matchups & Strategy: Travis Head has been a PowerPlay machine this IPL, amassing a strike-rate above 210 during that time. However, his figures against spin are far lower, with two dismissals in four games and a strike-rate of just 81.25. On a surface with low bounce, expect Punjab to take advantage of this weakness and apply spin early to eliminate the threat.
Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, and Kagiso Rabada are the probable members of the starting XI. [Singh Arshdeep for Impact]
Hyderabad’s Sunrisers
Injury/Unavailability: Mayank Agarwal, who missed Hyderabad’s most recent game due to illness, may be able to make a comeback to the starting lineup following his return to training.
Matchups & Strategy: Pat Cummins, who has dominated the English batter in T20s, will up on Jonny Bairstow, who hasn’t exactly been on fire for Punjab this season. The Australian has claimed the wicket of the Punjab opener three times, with him only managing to reach nearly 69. Additionally, Bairstow struggles against left-arm spin, losing wickets to left-arm orthodox bowlers five times in the IPL and consuming an alarming 49% of dot balls (54 in 110). Given that Abhishek Sharma opened the bowling against CSK in their most recent encounter, it is likely that SRH would bowl to him again with the new ball.
Possibile starting XI: Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal/Nitish Reddy, Abdul Samad, Adien Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande [Sub Jaydev Unadkat, Impact]
Were you aware?
– Dhawan and Bairstow have both previously represented SRH. 2518 of Dhawan’s 6734 runs have come for SRH (37.39%), compared to 1038 out of 1372 (75.66%) for Bairstow.
Liam Livingstone requires 89 more IPL runs to get 1000 runs, while Aiden Markram requires 98.
– T Natarajan will play in his 50th IPL match if he gets chosen.
What they expressed:
It all comes down to play, travel, play, travel throughout the IPL. We now have the opportunity to play four games on a surface that we are more familiar with than most. I’m hoping it will also give us an advantage on the points table. Brad Haddin, assistant coach at PBKS
