IPL 2021: Match 14 - Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Predicted Playing XI Against Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s campaign of the IPL 2021 is quickly got from bad to worse as they lost their third consecutive match in Chennai. They will now be up against Punjab Kings on April 21 at the same slow surface of the MA Chidambaram Stadium. As the David Warner-led side searches for their first win, there could be some changes from their side in the last match. 

After losing their two matches, they made four changes going into their previous match against Mumbai Indians. Having lost that match too, there will be a whole lot of questions for the team management of Hyderabad.

Here is the predicted XI of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for their match against Punjab Kings:

Openers (David Warner and Jonny Bairstow)

One of the reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting has not looked as strong as every year is because David Warner has not fired with the bat as much as fans would have hoped. Once he starts scoring those big fifties, Hyderabad’s batting will surely look different. It would require a special effort from captain Warner to take his side out of the puddle. 

Jonny Bairstow was promoted to open the batting in the previous match, replacing Wriddhiman Saha. The move worked well for the Sunrisers as the Englishman went around attacking in the powerplay overs. He scored 43 runs from 22 balls and would look to convert that start into a huge score. 

Middle-order (Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad)

Manish Pandey has not looked out of control during the last three matches in Chennai. It is just that he has not been able to read the pace of the Chennai wicket properly. Hyderabad badly needs him to fire if they are going to continue with the middle-order which they played in the previous game. Pandey is the only one with some experience and he would be responsible for guiding the innings. 

Speaking of experience, Hyderabad could just bring in Kedar Jadhav, who has loads of that in him. He is a reliable batter and his addition to that middle-order would be a welcome change. Abdul Samad will continue to hold his place with the management knowing the true potential of the youngster. 

All-rounders (Abhishek Sharma and Vijay Shankar)

Abhishek Sharma’s entry into the XI was predicted well ahead of their previous match. However, his addition didn’t add much value to the Sunrisers line-up. He bowled one over for five runs before returning with just a four-ball-two. He expected to continue in the XI. 

But it has to be noted that Vijay bowled three overs in the previous match, which reduced Sharma’s involvement. Shankar made a 25-ball 28 and showed some prowess with the bat. Hyderabad would also want him to continue from his spell of 2 for 19 from the previous match and deliver some key overs. 

Bowlers (Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar)

Mujeeb was brought into the team for the previous match against Mumbai Indians. The young Afghanistan spinner picked up two important wickets and bowled an economic spell which should keep him in this XI. His countryman, Rashid Khan will be on the field to support him and his presence makes the Hyderabad bowling line-up look much better. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 45 runs without picking a wicket in the last game. He has taken one wicket in this tournament and conceded 120 runs from his 12 overs. Hyderabad would want him to come out of this rut. T Natarajan should be back in the XI after being rested for the previous match. Khaleel Ahmed did bowl a good spell in that game, Natarajan’s comeback should take his place away from him. 

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