IPL 2021: Match 14 PBKS vs SRH Preview, Playing XI, Live Streaming Details & Updates

IPL 2021 is into the second week now. Even as one may easily call these the ‘early days’ a lot of how the teams will fare in the season can be determined by the amount of time that has passed. The ones who work hard early inevitably give themselves the cushion to relax, experiment, and gamble later.

Mumbai Indians in the 2020 edition is a good example. Towards the business end of the season, when a few of their counterparts were busy scratching heads doing the Net Run Rate math, apart from praying some if-this-then-that results to fall their way, the Indians were exercising the luxury of resting their mainstays, keeping them fresh for decisive Playoff battles while giving benchwarmers game time.

Two of those teams – Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad – who were occupied with those speculations have, once again, put themselves on a similar course, being seated at the bottom two spots of the table after three games, with heavily dented NRRs. So it is a battle of number seven versus number eight.

Known for their consistency in the league, the Sunrisers have only managed to be consistent at scripting mindboggling collapses so far. None of their victories have been a case of being outplayed, unlike Punjab Kings’ 6-wicket loss against the Chennai Super Kings, though. But that does little to help the fact that they have only zero points after three outings.

Against RCB, Hyderabad went down from 96/2 to 142/9 in six overs to concede the game by 6 runs in a 143-chase. Against MI, they went down to 137 all out from 90/3 in about eight overs to lose by 13 runs in a 150-chase. Against KKR, even if it was not a case of collapse, their struggling middle-order was left exposed as they failed to chase 87, falling 10 short, from eight overs despite having 7 wickets in hands. To open their account, SRH needs to fix their wobbly middle-order on priority.

On the other hand, lies the Punjab Kings, who started the tournament on a thrilling high, edging Rajasthan by merely four runs. A contrasting outing against Super Kings was a one-off failure of a star-studded batting line-up, although even as they got back to their ways against the Delhi Capitals, the bowling faltered and surrendered against an on-song Shikhar Dhawan, who made chasing nearly 10 runs-per-over look like the easiest job in the world.

One of the leading six-hitters of the tournament in 2020, Nicholas Pooran, has got two ducks and another single-digit score this year. Given the amount of faith the franchise poses in him, he will hold his place, but his form continues to remain a concern. With players like Pooran, it is always about that “one inning” to get going, but in a league where time passes quickly, neither he nor the team can afford to wait for that innings for too long.

A big positive for them, however, is Mayank Agarwal getting back amongst the runs, while the biggest is the young Arshdeep Singh, who has been impressive in both victory and defeat. But victories in team sports rarely come by individual brilliance. For far too long, Punjab has been plagued by that disease. To extend their patchy shininess, they need to fire in unison. More importantly, before it is too late.

Pitch and conditions

Punjab Kings are set to play their first encounter at Chepauk – an utterly cruel venue to Hyderabad, who are yet to discover a win here. The plan in Chennai has been simple: win the toss, bat first, with 6 games played and 5 being won by the teams defending. Nothing is expected to change.

Playing Combinations for PBKS vs SRH

Punjab Kings

Riley Meredith’s struggle continues. He went at 15 runs an over in the last game, picking only a single wicket. It is about time for Punjab to fit Chris Jordan into the scheme of things.

Predicted XI: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Jalaj Saxena/Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan/Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh

Sunrisers Hyderabad

A misfiring Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar have made the case for Kedar Jadhav’s inclusion. It remains to be seen if the management gives him a look-in.

Predicted XI: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow, (WK), Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan

PBKS vs SRH Head to Head

Played – 16 | Punjab Kings – 11 | Sunrisers Hyderabad – 5 | N/R – 0

PBKS vs SRH Broadcast Details

Match Timings – 7:30 PM IST

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar