In the 14th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be locking horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. In the first double-header of the week, PBKS will be looking to get back to the winning ways, after starting their IPL 2021 campaign with a close win over the Rajasthan Royals (RR), the Kings have succumbed to two successive losses. Much will ride on captain KL Rahul, who has blown hot and cold in IPL 2021, despite scoring two fifties.
PBKS will also be expecting Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran to fire. However, the Kings will be expected to make a few changes to their squad, given the change of venue. Speaking of the Sunrisers, David Warner and his men are still searching for a win with them losing all the three IPL 2021 games. SRH hasn’t be managed to perform as a unit, with their main problem being their inability to chase down targets.
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While Kane Williamson’s inclusion is bound to be a talking point, they have a bowler like Rashid Khan, who will play a crucial role. Although there isn’t much to separate the two sides on paper, the Punjab Kings might fancy a win, given the superior depth and strength of their batting unit. However, SRH has played at the Chennai pitch for three games now, which should make for an even contest on Wednesday. With both sides eyeing a win, fans will be expecting a cracker of a game.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Change in conditions calls for change in tactics from PBKS which will tempt them to included Fabian Allen in place of Riley Meredith in order to give the team an extra spin option. It will be interesting to see if they bring back Murugan Ashwin or give Ravi Bishnoi ago for the first time this season. Bishnoi had a phenomenal outing in the last season.
Probable XI: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (C & WK), Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
SRH made as many as four changes in their last game against MI which showed the panic in the squad. The ploy didn’t work and team management might go for more changes in search of a win. They badly need a solution in that middle order and if Williamson isn’t fit, they should at least fancy bringing back Jason Holder. If they opt for more experience, don’t be surprised if Kedar Jadhav makes his bow in orange. SRH will also be tempted to use Rashid Khan quite early to dismiss KL Rahul
Probable XI: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson/Jason Holder, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Kedar Jadhav/Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Khaleel Ahmed
Fantasy Suggestion #1:
KL Rahul (vc), Nicholas Pooran, Manish Pandey, David Warner (c), Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy Suggestion #2:
KL Rahul (c), Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey (vc), David Warner, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Ravi Bishnoi
