Follow UsWhile Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have won three in a row to get some momentum going, their opponents Punjab Kings (PBKS) are yet to string back-to-back victories in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and will look to change that in this game at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai on Sunday (April 17).
Punjab have backed their players to the hilt this season – no more than Odean Smith – and seem to be a settled unit. It’s now a question of turning potential into results, something they have not done on a consistent basis.
SRH looked down and out after losing the first two games. It’s a cliché, but we get the phrase “It’s just a matter of one win” thrown around quite often. For SRH though, every word of it makes complete sense as one win has turned to two and two to three. Will there be a fourth though?
One of the main reasons for SRH bouncing back after two losses is the form of Rahul Tripathi and T Natarajan. Tripathi stole the show with a magnificent 37-ball 71 in the previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Starting the season off with a three-ball duck in the first match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Tripathi has bounced back with knocks of 44, 39*, 17* and 71 in his next four innings to boost SRH at the top.
He has been a standout player for the side especially in the middle-overs where he has scored at a strike-rate of 183, only behind Andre Russell (189), scoring a boundary every 3.8 deliveries.
His good showing has played a huge part in SRH excelling in the middle phase, scoring at a run-rate of 8.8, the third best among all teams this season. Moreover, they have got these runs at an average of 56.4, getting a boundary every 6.6 deliveries.
Speaking of Natarajan – another key man for SRH – has been at his best in the first six overs and at the death. He has taken at least one wicket in the first over in the last three matches for SRH, which they have won. He has picked at least two wickets in every match this season, making him the only bowler after Bhuvneshwar Kumar to pick up two wickets or more in five consecutive matches.
With seven wickets to his name, Natarajan has the most wickets in the death this season so far. He has conceded at over 10 runs per over and struck once every 11.9 deliveries.
For PBKS though, Arshdeep has delivered at this phase. Unlike Natarajan, he does not have plenty of wickets to show for his effort, but has conceded just seven runs per over and the batters are able to get a boundary off him once every 10 balls, which PBKS and Arshdeep would take.
Since conceding 19 runs at the death against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the left-arm pacer gave away 11 off two overs against Gujarat Titans (GT) and conceded just five in his only over against Mumbai Indians (MI). Also, 10 off his 30 deliveries bowled in the last five overs have been dots.
It could boil down to the fact that he has executed the Yorkers well. 40% of his deliveries at the death have been Yorkers, but at times it turns into a low full-toss which is still not easy for the batters to put away.
Arshdeep Singh at the death in IPL 2022
SRH may be among the best teams in the middle phase, but there’s no denying that PBKS have been head and shoulders above each team. They have failed to go past 60 only once in the powerplay of their five matches so far, making them the only team to have a run-rate of over 10 in the first six.
Mayank Agarwal, who has scored at a strike-rate of 135 in the powerplay this season, could have his task cut out when he comes up against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has the tendency to get batters out with the ball moving in. Two of his three dismissals this season in the first six overs have come against such deliveries and his strike-rate drastically drops down to 96.
In fact in IPL since 2020, Agarwal has been dismissed on seven occasions when the ball has moved in which is the most. Agarwal vs Bhuvi could very well set the tone in the powerplay.
Regardless of the start Punjab get, it could be worth promoting Liam Livingstone to three. With two fifties in five innings this season already, Livingstone has been an asset for PBKS regardless of which phase he has batted in.
He has the highest strike-rate (186) this season after Dinesh Karthik (218) among batters with 100 runs. And that gets even better in the powerplay (230) and it has been quite good in the middle phase (173) too.
Further speaking of his prowess in the powerplay this season, he is the only batter with a strike-rate in excess of 200 (Min: 50 runs).
With Livingstone hitting a boundary every 2.6 deliveries in the powerplay, it could be a good idea to send him at three given the ease at which he finds the fence. With no Washington Sundar in the opposition’s camp, Livingstone could feast on the quicks which he has done so dismissively this season at a strike-rate of 200.
While Punjab do not need to fret over Livingstone’s pace of getting the runs, SRH have the Kane Williamson conundrum to address. Barring his fifty against Gujarat Titans he has struck at 110 or less in every innings this season. Overall, he has a strike-rate of 99 this season, which is his worst across all seasons.
With a dreadful strike-rate of just 51 in the first 10 balls, Williamson ranks the lowest in this ball range and not too far behind is his partner Abhishek Sharma which reads 74. The duo have put on 184 runs off 167 deliveries in the five innings they have batted together with scoring rate not too high, and it could put a lot of pressure on the batters who follow.
The fact that both of them are slow starters certainly does not help either. Will be interesting to see if their approach changes in this game.
Probable XI
SRH: There was a case for Shreyas Gopal to be included in the XI after Sundar was injured, but SRH decided to go in with his Karnataka teammate Jagadeesha Suchith. With six of PBKS’ top seven batters right-handed, we could see the orthodox spinner get another go in this match.
Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (c), Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Aiden Markram, Shashank Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.
PBKS: Punjab too are unlikely to make a change to their XI, unless they decide to rope in Harpreet Brar in place of Vaibhav Arora to give themselves an extra spin option.
Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh