8 pm, Monday: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kings XI Punjab

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab both will look to avoid a hat-trick of defeats in an IPL match.

David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Glenn Maxwell’s Kings XI Punjab. (Photo: IANS/BCCI)

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab both will look to avoid a hat-trick of defeats when they face each other in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Monday.

While defending champions Hyderabad have lost to Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in their last two matches, Punjab suffered defeat at the hands of Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Both Hyderabad and Punjab had very good starts and they will have to repeat those heroics as the campaign moves into the middle part. Both the sides will expect their batting units to fire in unison as they have let down their teams in the past two matches.

Sunrisers Hyderabads’ Rashid Khan celebrates after picking up a wicket. (Photo: AP)

With power-hitters like Glenn Maxwell, David Miller and Eoin Morgan in good form, Punjab can hope for another good start from Hashim Amla and Manan Vohra. Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha can also use the long handle at will which makes them a good batting unit.

On the bowling front, medium pacer Sandeep Sharma and left-arm spinner Axar Patel have delivered more often than not in this IPL, while veteran Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron will also have to step up.

Kings XI Punjab have won two out of the four IPL 10 games they’ve played. (Photo: AP)

About his side's bowling, Maxwell said:

It is not about the quality of our bowling, it is about bad execution on the day. Last two games we haven’t executed our plans, it’s as simple as that.

For Hyderabad, whose two wins came at home, it will be a matter of comfort to play at this Uppal stadium after two tough away games.

Batsmen David Warner, Shikhar Dhwan, Yuvraj Singh and Moises Henriques will be important. Yuvraj is the leader of an inexperienced middle-order and he needs to raise the bar again to maximise the good starts from Dhawan and Warner. Middle-order Deepak Hooda hasn't lived up to the expectations and that can be a worry for coach Tom Moody.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s cricketer Shikhar Dhawan bats during the Indian Premier League. (Photo: AP)

Seamers Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and young Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan hold the key and they need to continue to deliver.

Bhuvi has been outstanding, especially in death overs, and the young Rashid has emerged as a crucial bowler for the side with his unique leg-spin bowling.

Teams

Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell (capt), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Armaan Jaffer, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Arman Jaffer, Anureet Singh, Mohit Sharma, KC Cariappa, Pradeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, T Natrajan, Matt Henry, Varun Aaron, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Mann, Rahul Tewatia, Darren Sammy, Wriddhiman Saha, Nikhil Naik, Ishant Sharma.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (capt), Tanmay Agarwal, Ricky Bhui, Bipul Sharma, Ben Cutting, Shikhar Dhawan, Eklavya Dwivedi, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Siddharth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ben Laughlin, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra, Naman Ojha (wk), Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Barinder Sran, Pravin Tambe, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh.

Join The Quint on WhatsApp. Type “JOIN” and send to 9910181818.