Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune Supergiant clash with each other in Match 44, here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.In their last match, SRH lost unexpectedly to a young Delhi Daredevils side. Inspite of posting a healthy 185, SRH – who have possibly the best bowling side in the competition – failed to defend the target as DD got across the line in the final over. The defending champions are still in the top four, though they have lost some momentum and have slipped a notch in the points tally.
Rising Pune Supergiant, however, will come into the game believing they have found momentum at the right time. After winning just one of their first four matches, RPS have had a meteoric rise, claiming a spectacular six victories in their next seven matches. In their most recent match, they thrashed the Kolkata Knight Riders – one of the most successful sides in this IPL – handing the Gambhir-led side their first defeat at home. The one area RPS will be concerned about is the lack of runs from Ajinkya Rahane; that apart, things are falling in place, and RPS are aware they are very close to sealing a playoff spot.
David Warner,the SRH captain, is the highest run scorer this season and has batted extraordinarily well. He is the one of the key players today for the home side, as are Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson and Moises Henriques. Yuvraj Singh’s 70 in the last match, though to a losing cause, will hold the Indian southpaw in good stead when he bats at home today. SRH will also be helped by the fact that they have done extremely well at their home ground, and RPS will find it difficult to penetrate the fortress even though they are in such good form.
Rahul Tripathi who is RPS’ man in-form, is the team’s top run-getter this season – and that is some feat by itself given the team’s batting line-up consists of players like Steve Smith and Ajinkya Rahane who bat in the top three. Ben Stokes will part ways with the team shortly – and RPS will want to seal off the playoff berth before the champion all-rounder heads off for international duties.
On the bowling front, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, apart from the two exciting leg-spinners – Rashid Khan and Imran Tahir, will be in play for either sides, as will the medium pace of Ben Stokes, and the game promises to be an interesting contest between the ball and the bat.
When
06 May 2017, 1600 Hrs IST
Where
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
Squads
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (captain), Tanmay Agarwal, Ricky Bhui, Bipul Sharma, Ben Cutting, Shikhar Dhawan, Eklavya Dwivedi, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Siddharth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ben Laughlin, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra, Naman Ojha (wicketkeeper), Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Barinder Sran, Pravin Tambe, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh.
Rising Pune Supergiant: Steve Smith (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Ashok Dinda, Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, Ankit Sharma, Baba Aparajith, Ankush Bains, Rajat Bhatia, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Dan Christian, Lockie Ferguson, Imran Tahir, Jaskaran Singh, Usman Khawaja, Saurabh Kumar, Ben Stokes, Washington Sundar, Milind Tandon, Manoj Tiwary, Adam Zampa, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishwar Pandey, Rahul Tripathi and Shardul Thakur.
Head to Head
Overall: Matches played – 3, SRH Won – 1, RPS Won – 2.
Predictions:
- Sunrisers Hyderabad are undefeated in five matches at home this season. Expect the Hyderabad side to not give an inch of breathing space to the Pune side.
- Rashid Khan is the top wicket-taker in T20s in 2017; the Afghan cricketer has picked up 30 wickets in 18 matches so far this year. Imran Tahir is second in the list with 28 wickets from 15 T20 matches.
- Hyderabad need a win today to insulate themselves from the Kings XI Punjab who are climbing in the points table with their last match’s victory against RCB. Even though the Pune side have the momentum, expect the defending champs to go full throttle today.
