IPL 2024, Match 23: Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Match Preview

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be playing only their second home match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) on Tuesday, April 9, as they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mohali.

The Kings will be returning to their new home ground for the first time since their opening fixture of the season against Delhi Capitals last month. In that game, Punjab won by four wickets on the back of a disciplined bowling performance and a solid half-century from Sam Curran. Shikhar Dhawan and Co. went on to lose two games against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants before winning their last encounter against Gujarat Titans. They are currently placed at No. 6 on the points table.

Punjab will be buoyant after chasing down a 200-run target against the Titans in Ahmedabad with three wickets and one ball to spare. Shashank Singh, who has looked in sublime touch this season, scored an unbeaten 61 off 29 balls and almost single-handedly took his team to a famous victory.

PBKS have one of the most formidable bowling attacks on paper in the league. Harpreet Brar has been impeccable with his lines and has conceded runs at a miserly economy rate of 5.69. The left-arm spinner has also bagged four wickets in as many matches. However, the pacers have failed to impress.

Kagiso Rabada is the leading wicket-taker for the Kings. He has six wickets from four games. However, his economy rate is a high 8.81. Arshdeep Singh has also been very expensive as he has leaked runs at an economy rate of 9.14. Harshal Patel, who was roped in by the side at the IPL 2024 auction for a whopping INR 11.75 crore. However, the right-arm pacer has been the most expensive bowler for the Kings, having an economy rate of 11.31.

Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow has struggled with the bat, having scored just 81 runs from four matches. Captain Dhawan is the leading run-getter for the franchise with 138 runs from four matches at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of 131.43. However, apart from his 50-ball 70 against Lucknow, the southpaw hasn't looked in great nick. Curran has also been quiet with the bat since his fifty in the first game. Shashank, after his heroics in the last game, could be set for a promotion in the batting order as he has looked the most fluent among all the Punjab batters.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are placed in the fifth spot on the points table, having the same numbers of points as Punjab but a much better net run rate (NRR). They started with a heartbreaking loss to Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, before bouncing back with a 31-run win against Mumbai Indians at home. This game saw the former champions amassing the highest team total, 277/3, in the history of the competition. However, they couldn't bask in the glory of the remarkable performance against Mumbai as they lost their next game against Gujarat by seven wickets.

Pat Cummins and Co. bounced back in their last game and registered only their sixth win in 20 matches against Chennai Super Kings. After restricting the Super Kings to 165/5 in Hyderabad, the Sunrisers chased the target with consummate ease, winning by six wickets with 11 balls to spare.

The batting department of the Orange Army has been in prolific form in the tournament. The likes of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have decimated the opposition bowling with some fearless cricket. Head has a strike rate of 213.16 so far this season. Sharma, on the other hand, has an even better strike rate of 217.57 and in the last game, he smashed the Chennai bowlers to score a blistering 37 off just 12 balls.

Aiden Markram also scored his first half-century of the season in the last game. However, Heinrich Klaasen has been the most impressive batter for Hyderabad. He has amassed 177 runs in four matches at an average of 88.50 and a strike rate of 203.45. The bowling unit wasn't looking as menacing as the batting in the first three matches.

However, they produced a fine effort in the last game against Chennai and that should give them a lot of confidence. Bhuvneshwar Kumar nailed his yorkers in the death overs and Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat bowled outside the hitting arc to frustrate the Chennai batters. However, the dismal form of leg-spinner Mayank Markhande will be a worrying factor for Hyderabad. The 26-year-old has picked up just three wickets from four matches at an average of 48.33 and conceded runs at an economy of 11.15.

Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium Pitch Report and Conditions

This is going to be only the second-ever IPL game to be played at this venue. In the first game, which was an afternoon fixture, the pitch got better to bat on under the lights. During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season, teams found it hard to chase down totals. Only two games were won by chasing teams, whereas six were won by teams batting first. The average first-innings score was 174, the exact total that Delhi mustered in the first IPL encounter at this ground.

Also Check: Orange Cap in IPL 2024 - Most Runs

Probable Playing XI

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Punjab Kings could stick to the same playing XI that helped them chase down the 200-run target against Gujarat in the last game. This would mean that Rahul Chahar, who was dropped in the previous game, will have to wait for his comeback.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Jonny Bairstow, Prabsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (Wk), Sikandar Raza, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel

Impact Player: Arshdeep Singh

Also Check: IPL 2024 Points Table

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

With the return of T Natarajan, Sunrisers bowling attack looks much stronger than before. The 20-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy replaced an unwell Mayank Agarwal in the last game. The youngster impressed with the bat during his brief 14-run knock off eight balls against Chennai in the last game. It would be interesting to see if the experienced Mayank, who has been in woeful form so far in IPL 2024, gets back into the side or SRH continue to back the young batter from Visakhapatnam.

Predicted XI: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Shahbaz Ahmed, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Abdul Samad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (C), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande

Impact Player: Jaydev Unadkat

Also Check: Purple Cap in IPL 2024 - Most Wickets

Head-to-Head Record

PBKS vs SRH, 23rd Match Broadcasting details: