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. April 9, they kick off a four-match home leg against the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Although Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings appear to have had very similar IPL trips thus far (two victories from four games and a mid-table position in the points standings), their paths there could not have been more dissimilar.
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 Punjab Kings, hanging 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 skill 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.
Venue : Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh.
PBKS Probable XI : Shikhar Dhawan (C), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shashank Singh, Sikandar Raza, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada.
SRH Probable XI : Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Adien Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Mayank Agarwal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande.
