Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings, 70th Match - Preview and prediction

Preview by Prakhar

The overview

By the end of the league stage on Sunday night (May 22), either the Sunrisers Hyderabad or the Punjab Kings are on 14 points. Given that another win would make them a serious playoff candidate, one of these two teams will ruin their loss this season. Both outfits are from that season. There are times when they seem to dominate the world, but at other times they seem normal.

PBKS wins and loses, but the SRH case is interesting. They lost the first two, won the next five and changed their fortunes, then lost the next five in spectacular fashion. They beat the Mumbai Indians in their last match but were knocked out as other results went against them. Knowing that these two aspects are dead rubber, what are you expecting now? Considering the big change in the future is a game, can you pay dividends? maybe not. However, it's still important to look at some of these fringe players.

For example, Glenn Phillips has not been featured in SRH this season. No one can hit a 6 like the Kiwi in 2021, but Kane Williamson is warming up from the bench this season despite his poor performance. But now that Williamson is no longer available, Philips is ready to give it a try. If he impresses, SRH management will consider their decision to bomb 14Cr at Williamson. Romario Shepherd is not anywhere in the picture after the first two games. Giving him another chance didn't hurt SRH considering they spent a lot of money for his services.

The same goes for PBKS. Shahrukh Khan could not reproduce the domestic appearance as a bystander, but Ishan Borel could not invade the XI. Benny Howell, the only foreign player on the roster, has yet to show up. His form was slipping away, but Mayank Agarwal was not running. His captain found some fans, but Mayank knew he needed to run away. He also needs to figure out his sweet spot on this XI first. PBKS may want to cheat again but really wants to end the season with a high price.

When: Sunday, May 22 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect: SRH's last game at the Wankhede was a high-scoring one but the pitches have not been very conducive to batting at this venue at the back end of the tournament.

Head to head: SRH 13 - 6 PBKS

Team Watch

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Tactics and matchups: Johnny Bainsu has also found a shape, and it could be a great contest between SRH's bowling attack and PBKS' charming batting lineup. However, if the XI has only one spinner, SRH may not be able to take full advantage of the degraded wicket. Liam Livingstone hurt them the last time they met. Maybe the judicious use of someone like T Natarajan against the rampaging Brits would work.

Probable XI: Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Washington Sundar, Romario Shepherd/Sean Abbott, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (C), T Natarajan, Umran Malik

Punjab Kings

Tactics and matchups: PBKS likes to go all out. This high-stakes approach could hit this bowling unit hard if they lose their early wickets. The last time the two teams met, an early wicket loss left the low post exposed to Umran Malik's pace, and the youngster had just broken through them to take four wickets. Kagiso Rabada had a favorable matchup with SRH finishers Nicholas Pooran and Washington Sundar, dismissing them five times in 42 deliveries.

Probable XI: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Benny Howell, Shahrukh Khan/Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan/Ishan Porel, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh

Did you know?

-Of all the full-time captains this season, only two have an average age of less than 20. Mayank is averaging just 17.73, but Williamson finished the season with a 19.64 average.

-Only Jasprit Bumrah had a higher economic growth rate than Aush Deep Singh (7.95) at the time of his death this season.