IPL 2020: Match 11, DC vs SRH – SRH Predicted Playing XI

Right at the start of the IPL 2020 season, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are bogged down by several questions. The ‘Men in Orange’, thus far in the tournament, are the only team without a victory. Historically, they have always relied heavily on their top-order. However, with the likes of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow not delivering up to the expectations, they have found themselves to be in a tough spot.

Moreover, they have got concerns over the balance of the team if they rope in Kane Williamson. The good news, however, is that his availability will give them flexibility while picking the eleven. They will need to find the right mix for the middle-order as soon as possible and hence might continue experimenting as they go into this match.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Sunrisers Hyderabad for DC vs SRH:

Openers (Jonny Bairstow (wk), David Warner (c))

There are no doubts for the Sunrisers Hyderabad as far as their opening combination is concerned. The duo of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow might not have fired in all cylinders as yet as they did in the last season. However, they are both high-quality players and are always just a few hits away from getting back to their best.

Warner tried to play a responsible knock in the last game but couldn’t go on to put up a big score. He’d like to stay on in the middle till the end of the 20th over and make an impact. Even though Bairstow missed out against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he is expected to come back to his own in this encounter.

Middle Order (Manish Pandey, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma)

Manish Pandey has looked to be in good form in both the games with scores of 34 and 51. However, it is essential for him and the SRH that he stays in the middle for a longer period of time and gets a big score. At the same time, there is also an injury concern with him. While fielding in the last game, he seemed to have pulled his hamstring and wobbled off the field. With no updates as yet, the fans are hoping that he’d be fit and fine for this match.

SRH could possibly look to promote Abhishek Sharma up the order. Batting at his current position, he has had his opportunities limited even though he looked good with the bat. Abdul Samad might be roped into the side in place of Priyam Garg. He is known to be a big-hitter and can bat lower down the order.

All-Rounders (Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi)

Mohammad Nabi played his first game this season against KKR and replaced the injured Mitchell Marsh in the side. He scored 11 runs with the bat and was economical with the ball even though he went wicketless. SRH would hope that he makes a bigger impact in the upcoming game.

Vijay Shankar missed the last game due to a niggle. Wriddhiman Saha, who replaced him, really struggled with the bat. If he is fit, he could make it straight back to the eleven. Otherwise, SRH might look at other options like Virat Singh and Priyam Garg.

Bowlers (Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Khaleel Ahmed)

SRH might not make any changes to their bowling department as yet. Even though teams have hardly been taking any risks against him, Rashid Khan managed to pick his first wicket of the season in the last game. The leg-spinner can draw some confidence from that and try to excel in this game.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was slightly off in the previous game and is yet to find his rhythm. He went for over 9 runs an over in the last game which is a concern for SRH. T Natarajan and Khaleel Ahmed also went for about 9 runs an over but both of them picked up a wicket each. The pace troika has got to get better with the economy rate.