IPL match preview: Punjab to revive playoff hopes against SRH
After losing to Rajasthan Royals in a close game, Punjab Kings have to win against Sunrisers Hyderabad tonight to have to keep their chance alive of making it into this year’s playoffs.
The match will begin at 7:30 pm (India Time).
Expected playingXI
PBKS
Lokesh Rahul (C and wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Harpreet Brar, Adil Rashid, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel
SRH
David Warner, Kane Williamson (C), Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Expected best performers
KL Rahul
Rahul has been among the runs ever since the start of this season.
The Punjab Kings skipper has to be one of the unluckiest captains in the league, of course, after Virat Kohli who hasn’t yet got his hands on the coveted IPL trophy in over a decade.
While he has been performing in almost every game, other batters fail to help him out for long. And when the batters get going, the bowler let him down.
Rahul has been IPL’s golden boy when it comes to utilising the powerplays and finding gaps. Last season, he was the top scorer with 678 runs. This year, he has scored 380 runs in eight games already.
If Hyderabad bowlers get rid of him early, it’s fair to say that half the battle will be won.
Rashid Khan
While the Afghanistan spinner has been average in the UAE-leg of the tournament, he has a reputation for turning the game around for his team in franchise cricket.
Hence, Rashid Khan can’t be ruled out of the game ever.
With his googlies and timely straighter ones, the Afghan keeps the batters guessing and maintaining a tight economy on his end. Playing him on the Sheikh Zayed track will be a tough challenge for the Punjab Kings’ batters.
Match prediction
Out of 17 games they’ve played against each other, Sunrisers Hyderabad have won 12. This tells us a completely different story, however, Punjab are the favourites to win tonight’s contest.
Despite losing six out of nine matches this year, the Kings have had several close calls that they’ve bottled. Unlike Hyderabad, who have been overwhelmed in most one-sided contests.
All Punjab have to do is to remain composed and avoid taking the game to the last over like they did against the Royals. This creates immense pressure on the team, equalling the chances of both sides.
Rahul’s men are at the seventh spot as of September 25. With a win against SRH, they will still be able to look forward to this year’s playoffs.
As for SRH, Kane Williamson has not been able to bring a drastic change into their performance ever since the management made him succeed David Warner as the captain. Hence, they don’t seem to have much chance against PBKS.
