SRH vs KXIP, Hyderabad
Starts at 08:00 PM IST (14:30 GMT), Apr 26
On a supposed 190-wicket at the Wankhede on Tuesday, the Sunrisers Hyderabad mustered a meek 118 against Mumbai Indians. Evidently, Kane Williamson and Co have frailties in the batting department that need refurbishing.
It must be noted though, that despite putting up the lowest score in a full 20-over innings in this edition of the Indian Premier League, Hyderabad pulled off a 31-run victory. And that the defence of the lowly score came in the absence of their premier paceman - Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Adversity, it seems, brings out the best in Hyderabad and that trait will be put to the test when they take on Kings XI Punjab at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal on Thursday (April 26).
Hyderabad's stomach for a stiff fight is an obvious outcome of their immaculate auction strategy. Tom Moody, the head coach, did mention in the aftermath that they had gone into the auction with the idea of like-for-like replacements for each player. In Bhuvneshwar's case, it has been Siddarth Kaul. The paceman has assumed immense responsibility, and with Rashid Khan, the duo ensured Mumbai were beaten in their own backyard after picking up five wickets between them while conceding just 34 runs. The pair of Sandeep Sharma and Basil Thampi, who made his SRH debut, was outstanding, giving away little for their three wickets, showcasing the depth in SRH's bowling stocks even in the absence of their spearhead.
It was the same Rashid, who returned with 2-11 with a maiden on the night, who was clobbered for 55 runs in his four overs against Kings XI Punjab earlier in the season - the most he has ever conceded in a T20. Chris Gayle smashed him for as many as six sixes as Rashid erred in his lengths, bowling too full. The Jamaican went on to score a century - 42 runs of which came off Rashid's 16 balls, and SRH, who were undefeated in the tournament at that stage with three wins on the trot, were handed their first defeat.
That loss against Punjab saw them slip down the table to third, while R Ashwin's men have subsequently grown in stature and shifted themselves to the helm.
Punjab have won four games in succession and have five wins out of six games, but they aren't looking impenetrable. They have only managed to hold their nerve under trying circumstances, which, it must be said, isn't the easiest thing to do.
Barring the minor hiccup against Royal Challengers Bangalore, they have been clinical all through under the shrewd leadership of R Ashwin. KL Rahul and Gayle have given them such strong starts that it has eased roles for the middle-order bats. Those sparkling starts have even masked the failures of Aaron Finch and Yuvraj Singh, who have had lean seasons so far. When Gayle was rested in the previous game against Delhi Daredevils due to soreness, Punjab's batting didn't stand out, and that's something Hyderabad will have on their mind. Get the openers out and open up Punjab's soft underbelly of a middle order.
While the batting is their strong suit, the bowling hasn't, barring in the game against Delhi, done exceedingly well, conceding a few big scores.
In a sense, Punjab are quite balanced in their dependency on batting and bowling. Hyderabad certainly aren't. Their bowling has won them pretty much every game so far and they'll need to do something to shake up that trend. Shikhar Dhawan returned from injury after missing the clash against Chennai Super Kings, but didn't provide the ideal start against Mumbai and immediately much of the pressure fell on Kane Williamson, who opened the batting for the first time this season. The SRH captain has looked in divine touch, but he cannot possibly lug the weight of the responsibility on his slender shoulders for too long.
