IPL 2021: Punjab Kings Predicted Playing XI Against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Punjab Kings have had a rough time in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. The team, led by KL Rahul, is placed at seventh in the points table and is in dire need of a victory. PBKS have six points to their name and their net run rate of -0.345 isn’t the best either.

In their previous game against the Rajasthan Royals, Punjab found themselves with a golden chance of securing a win. They needed four runs to win in the last over, but Kartik Tyagi, who gave away one run and picked up two wickets, denied them a win.

Going into their next game, PBKS cane draw confidence from the fact that the Sunrisers Hyderabad are languishing at the bottom of the points table. If Rahul’s men lose their next game, it will need a miracle for them to make their way through to the playoffs.

Here’s the PBKS Predicted XI for the SRH vs PBKS match

Openers- KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been fulcrums of the PBKS batting unit. Rahul is currently second in the list of leading run-scorers in the tournament. The right-hander has notched 380 runs from eight matches at an average of 63.33 and a strike rate of 137.68.

In their previous game, Rahul shared a 120-run stand with Agarwal off a mere 71 balls, though their collective effort went in vain. Rahul scored 49 before Chetan Sakariya got rid of him. Agarwal, on the other hand, hasn’t let his skipper and team down by any stretch of the imagination.

The opener has scored 327 runs at a decent strike rate of 144.05. The duo can’t afford to drop their guard as the rest of the batting isn’t in the best of form. They will again be looking to take the Kings off to a flying start in the encounter.

Middle-order- Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda

The middle-order has a lot of firepower, but has lacked consistency in the IPL. Aiden Markram stayed unbeaten on 26 off 20, but he couldn’t take his team over the finishing line. Markram came into the team after the 42-year-old Chris Gayle missed out due to certain reasons.

The South African may get another chance since he looked in decent enough rhythm, albeit his team failed to get over the line. Nicholas Pooran had a forgettable outing in the first leg of IPL 2021 in India. The southpaw bagged as many as four ducks and looked completely out of sorts.

However, he scored 32 off 22 with one four and two sixes against the Royals and the knock would have given him some confidence. Deepak Hooda scored a fifty against the Royals in India, but has failed to get a substantial score since then.

All-rounder- Fabian Allen, Harpreet Brar

Fabian Allen didn’t have much to do in the previous game against the Royals. He came to bat in with PBKS needing three runs off the last ball. But he was unable to negate a wide Yorker from Kartik Tyagi and ended up playing a dot ball. Allen didn’t get to bowl his slow left-arm spin as well.

Harpreet Brar had put forth a match-winning show against the Royal Challengers Bangalore as he performed with both bat and ball. In the previous game, he gave away only 17 runs in three overs at an economy rate of 5.67. Moreover, the left-armer got the wicket of a well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Bowlers- Adil Rashid, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Porel, Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh must be brimming with confidence after he notched a five-wicket haul against the Royals. The left-arm seam bowler is also the leading wicket-taker for the Kings, having taken 12 wickets at an economy rate of 12. Mohammed Shami has accounted for 11 scalps in the T20 event.

Ishan Porel had a mixed bag as he picked up the prized scalp of Sanju Samson, but gave away 39 runs in his quota of four overs. Adil Rashid was expected to make an impact on his IPL debut. But the leg-spinner had a rather bad day in the office. The leg-spinner was taken for 35 runs in three overs.