IPL 2017: Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rising Pune Supergiant, Game 44 – Match Result Predictions

The Sunrisers Hyderabad host the Rising Pune Supergiant in a top table clash at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. The last time the two teams met at Pune, MS Dhoni turned around the fortunes of the Pune franchise with a match-defining knock of 61 off 39 deliveries.

Since then, Rising Pune Supergiant has been unstoppable winning 5 out of their last 6 matches and have stormed past the Sunrisers from the bottom half of the table. Ben Stokes and Rahul Tripathi have been instrumental for clinching those wins and still remain the key in tomorrow’s match against the Sunrisers.

Sunrisers’ winning streak was brought to an end by the Daredevils in the last match. But Warner would not lose sleep over the loss as they are still in contention for the playoffs, even though they slipped to the fourth spot in the points table. Warner’s side has played 11 matches and has accumulated 13 points – winning 6 and losing 4.

All in all, Super Saturday will treat us with a crackerjack of a game as it will decide the orientation of the top-half of the table.

Here is what Crictracker predicts for the game:                   

Scenario 1: Sunrisers Hyderabad will win the toss

Toss Prediction: Sunrisers Hyderabad choose to field

First innings prediction: 185-200

2nd innings Prediction: SRH will win by 5 wickets and 3 balls to spare

Scenario 2: RPS will win the toss

Toss Prediction: RPS choose to bowl

First innings Prediction: 190-210

2nd innings Prediction: SRH will win by 15 runs

Head to Head Record

Overall: Total Matches –3, SRH Won – 1, RPS Won –2

In the previous edition of the tournament, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the Rising Pune Supergiant shared the honors of winning one game each in the league stages against each other. Hyderabad was the home venue for RPS for a few games and they had played the SRH at the ‘home’ venue at Hyderabad. This year, the two sides met at the MCA Stadium Pune. It was a blitzkrieg unbeaten 61 off just 34 balls from MS Dhoni that helped RPS topple the defending champions.

Team Combination

Rising Pune Supergiant

Rising Pune Supergiant would want to continue with their playing XI barring any injury. The batting and bowling line up look compact. If Stokes is rested, RPS would want to look at Lockie Ferguson. But in all likeliness, it is safe to assume that the team will not make many changes in their lineup. Tinkering with the winning combination would not sound like a prudent idea on the day.

Predicted XI:

Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steve Smith (c), Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni(wk), Manoj Tiwary, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, S Thakur, JD Unadkat, Imran Tahir

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The bulk of the runs from the Sunrisers squad have come from their top 3. Bowling this season has appeared potent yet again. VVS Laxman and co. would want to look at Ben Cutting in place of Moises Henriques. Or they could perhaps look at someone like Mohammad Nabi to be back in the side at the expense of Henriques. Considering the spin friendly track at Hyderabad, Nabi could be a handy deal. Barring this change, no other changes are expected in the lineup.

Predicted XI:

David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Ben Cutting, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddharth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj

Given the recent form of the Supergiant, RPS hold the upper hand. But to beat Sunrisers at their own fortress would be a different ball game.

Do let us know your predictions in the comment section below.