IPL 6: Match 22 - PWI vs SRH – Sunrisers Hyderabad Preview

For a side considered to be one of the weaker ones in the league, Sunrisers Hyderabad have started off quite well with three wins out of the five matches played so far. An unexpected name in the top half of the table, the next stop on the road for Sangakkara’s men is Pune where they take on a rejuvenated PWI side high on confidence after wins against Rajasthan Royals and giants CSK. What appears to be a rather dull contest between two weak sides is however a must win game for SRH to lift the dropping shoulders in the camp after the humiliation at Kolkata.

Irrespective of Pune being one of the seemingly ‘weak’ sides, a Hyderabad win cannot be taken for granted. The problem with Sunrisers has been the dull and insipid performances displayed so far by the players as a whole, in particular the batting unit. The wins have been narrow, even unconvincing, yet the losses very humiliating. With two sides pretty low on firepower, the match can be expected to be a low scoring affair and as with other low scoring contests, it promises to go right down to the wire.

Conditions:

The pitch at the Subrata Roy stadium has been very unpredictable – much like the team that plays there – and may significantly alter the outcome of the game.

Head-to-Head:

There’s been just one game played between the two sides – on Match day 2 of IPL 6. A game which was won by the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 22 runs.

Played: 1

PWI: 0

SRH: 1

Strategic comparison:

Pune will be without all-rounder Yuvraj Singh which will further add to their batting woes. This vulnerability of the PWI batting line-up can work out well for the Sunrisers who can boast of a decent bowling attack spearheaded by Dale Steyn. If only they can get Pune’s weakness to work in their favour.

Key Factor: Dale Steyn

Against an unpredictable Pune batting line-up, the world’s most lethal speedster can be more than handy. A player, who on his day can single-handedly win the game for his side, Steyn has been the common link in all of Sunrisers’ victories in IPL 6. His four overs will be most crucial and can be the difference between a win and a loss for SRH. It will be interesting to see if he can get the unpredictable conditions to work in his favour.

Probable XI:

Parthiv Patel (wk), Kumar Sangakkara (c), Akshat Reddy, Ashish Reddy, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Thisara Perera, Hanuma Vihari, Dale Steyn, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma.