In the 37th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be locking horns with Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Sharjah. Hyderabad’s lean patch seems to have continued in the second leg of the tournament as well as they were thoroughly thrashed by Delhi Capitals (DC) by a comfortable margin of 8 wickets on Wednesday.
The Men in Orange are now practically out of contention to qualify for the playoffs, but mathematics is providing them with a slim hope. With a solitary win, SRH is still reeling at the bottom of the table with only 2 points under their belt. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, should blame themselves and only themselves for their loss against Rajasthan Royals, (RR) as they snatched loss from the jaws of the win in the run-chase.
ALSO READ: Match 37 (SRH vs PBKS) – Fantasy XI And Probable XI Predictions
It has now become a habit for PBKS, and they need to address their middle-order batting issues soon, as they mainly rely on their openers Lokesh Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. It will be interesting who will come out on top between the bottom-placed sides. Let us look at 3 player battles to watch out for in the RCB vs CSK game in IPL 2021.
#1 Sandeep Sharma vs Mayank Agarwal
Sandeep Sharma has not been very impressive so far for the SRH in this season. He has often bowled with the new ball but failed to trouble the batsmen with his outswingers and he would like to change that in the UAE leg. He can also bring it back into the right-hander and he will be eager to get some early breakthroughs for SRH.
ALSO READ: Match 36 (DC vs RR) – 3 Player Battles To Watch Out For
Sharma’s main threat will be while bowling against Mayank Agarwal who looked solid in the first game against RR. His brilliant knock of 67 made sure PBKS was in the game during the chase but their middle order failed to seal the match. This will be one of the interesting battles between Sandeep and Mayank.
#2 Rashid Khan vs KL Rahul
Rashid Khan failed to do much in the game against the DC, however, he was superb in the first phase of IPL 2021 and he will be looking to replicate a similar performance n the remaining games of the UAE phase. KL Rahul got a lot of chances in the first match against Rajasthan Royals as the fielders dropped him 4 times. Rashid will fancy his chances against Rahul, given that he has the unpredictability factor and can beat any batsman in the world with his variations.
#3 Mohammed Shami vs Kane Williamson
Mohammed Shami was in terrific form against RRand KL Rahul used him very wisely by allowing him to blow the first couple of overs upfront. He is among one of the best hit-the-deck bowlers in India at the moment and he is also in the T20 Worldcup squad. However, good form in UAE might just propel his case and he will have a tough time against Kane Williamson.
Williamson is one of the best in the business and he has the ability if destroying any bowling attack without taking risks. He plays those exquisite drives on the offside but can also be vulnerable on the off-stump line at times. He will have to battle out against the likes of Mohammed Shami who is pretty good at bowling accurate outswingers.
