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Indian Premier League 2021

IPL 2021: PBKS vs SRH - Match Preview and Probable Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad need their middle-order to fire against Punjab Kings

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings are at the bottom of the IPL 2021 Table [Credits: DNA India]
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Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings are at the bottom of the IPL 2021 Table [Credits: DNA India]

By

PTI

Updated: 20 April 2021 9:50 AM GMT

Bruised and battered after suffering a hat-trick of defeats, a desperate Sunrisers Hyderabad would seek inspiration from skipper David Warner to arrest any further slide when they take on Punjab Kings in an IPL match here on Wednesday. SRH couldn't have asked for a worse start to the season as they slumped to three straight defeats, and on all occasions while chasing.

Punjab are a tad better than SRH, having registered one win out of three games to be placed at seventh in the standings, a rung above their Wednesday's opponents.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Chasing has been Sunrisers' Achilles Heel so far in the league. They failed to get past a low score against Mumbai Indians in their last match. SRH have been hit hard by the lack of depth in their playing XI and below-par Indian bench strength.

In these circumstances, the onus rests on Warner to do some magic and inspire his side to bounce back in the tournament. A big innings is due from the SRH captain as he has scored just 93 runs from the three matches he has played so far with the 54 against Royals Challengers Bangalore being the highest. He also needs some serious introspection before deciding his playing XI on Wednesday.

Warner and Rashid Khan are certainties in the foreign players' slots, but the absence of Kane Williamson has been badly felt as he can provide solidity to the middle-order, especially after they faltered in three consecutive chases. Going by Wridhhiman Saha's poor form, Jonny Bairstow is the frontrunner for the wicket-keeper's position.

But what would be troubling Warner most is the lack of depth in the team's local batting resources. It's high time the likes of Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, and Abdul Samad pulled up their socks as the likes of seasoned Kedar Jadhav and Priyam Garg are waiting in the wings for their opportunities.

SRH have also been hit hard by the poor show of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan. Natarajan was replaced by Khaleel Ahmed in their last match and the latter did a good job to restrict Mumbai. But Bhuvneshwar continues to be on the expensive side. Rashid has been economical but didn't look menacing so far.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Probable Playing XI:

David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhunveshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan

Punjab Kings

Punjab too are on a losing streak after the win in their tournament opener over Rajasthan Royals. They lost to Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.

After a batting collapse against CSK, Punjab made a significant improvement and rode on skipper KL Rahul (61) and Mayank Agarwal (69) fifties to post a challenging 195 for four against DC. But a below-par effort from their bowlers spoiled the hard work of the openers.

Mohammed Shami has not been in his best form so far and leaked runs but what would be a concern for KL Rahul is the performance of the Australian pace duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith. Both Richardson and Meredith were expensive in all the matches they played without much success and it is time for Rahul to think of other alternatives like Chris Jordan. Young Arshdeep Singh has been impressive for Punjab.

Punjab Kings Probable Playing XI:

Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Chris Jordan, Arshdeep Singh

PBKS vs SRH: Venue and Match Details

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Date: 21st April, 2021

Time: 3:30 PM IST

PBKS vs SRH: Live Streaming

The match between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network. Fans can also stream the match live on Disney+ Hotstar.

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