IPL 2023, SRH vs PBKS: SunRisers Hyderabad desperate to bounce back against Punjab Kings on home turf

IPL 2023: SunRisers Hyderabad is one of the sides yet to earn its maiden season victory. Desperate to turn things around after twin opening losses, SRH would be banking on home advantage against Punjab Kings.

Smarting from back-to-back defeats, former champion Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will have a lot to ponder, especially addressing their batting frailties, when they take on a high-flying Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

For a team that finished at the eighth spot in the last two editions, SRH would have hoped for a better start to the season. Still, it suffered two crushing defeats from former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), respectively. A poor show with the bat despite some exciting players in the line-up is the prime reason behind their failure. Sunrisers' struggles to build partnerships saw them score 131 and 121 in its two matches so far.

Losing wickets in a heap has proved its bane as it failed to get any momentum. If SRH was 30 for 2 in the powerplay in the first game, it managed 43/1 against LSG, only to squander it away, slipping to 55/4 in nine overs. The return of new skipper Aiden Markram, too, didn't change their fate as he made a duck. The ability to play spin was behind the rise of Harry Brook, but he got out to spinners in both matches.

In the top order, SRH tried wicketkeeper Anmolpreet Singh as an opener instead of Abhishek Sharma in their last match, and he looked promising. Still, Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi have been inconsistent. It took two cameos from Abdul Samad to take SRH to a decent total in the two matches. With big-hitting Heinrich Klaasen waiting in the wings, it remains to be seen what combination they use to prop up the batting.

Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi has been most consistent for them, but to be fair, the bowlers didn't have enough total to defend, which SRH will have to fix soon. On the other hand, Punjab is soaring high after two comprehensive wins. If former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was beaten by seven runs via DLS at Mohali, Rajasthan was crushed by five runs in Guwahati, as Punjab produced a fine display of their bowling and batting prowess.

Captained by the experienced and calm Shikhar Dhawan, PBKS rode on their superior batting, led by their Indian players, to put up 190-plus scores and then defended the totals with Arshdeep Singh producing the goods in the two matches. Dhawan has led from the front with two 50s, while Prabhsimran Singh and B Rajapaksa raised their hands when needed as the top order has looked solid.

Among foreign recruits, Nathan Ellis was sensational against RR in the last match, but pace bowling all-rounder Sam Curran -- the most expensive buy ever in IPL history at ₹18.50 crore -- has so far leaked a lot of runs. However, on paper, PBKS has the edge, and it will take a special effort from SRH to outwit it at its den.

Squads
SRH: Aiden Markram (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Harry Brook, Mayank Dagar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Tyagi, Heinrich Klaasen, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Glenn Phillips, Adil Rashid, Sanvir Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Umran Malik, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth Vyas, Washington Sundar and Upendra Yadav.
PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Raj Bawa, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, M Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza and Atharva Taide.

Match details
Date and day: April 8, 2023 (Saturday)
Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema

(With inputs from PTI)