Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be locking horns with Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the last league match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Both the teams don’t have a chance to qualify for the playoffs, however, they will be looking to sign off the season with a win. The Orange Army won a close game against Mumbai Indians but they will not have the services of skipper Kane Williamson who has returned to New Zealand for the birth of his child.
Glenn Phillips is expected to replace him in the XI. On the other hand, Punjab Kings have witnessed an on-and-off season and a win here might just push them to the sixth place in the points table. Mayank Agarwal in particular has struggled for runs and dropping himself to the middle order hasn’t helped the cause as well.
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However, Mayank’s captaincy has been impressive at times, but there is a case for his form as well. Shahrukh Khan might also get a look in for the final game in place of struggling Bhanuka Rajapaksa. In the 19 meetings between the two sides in IPL so far, SRH is leading the charts 13-6 against PBKS in the head-to-head battles. In the last 5 meetings, however, it’s 3-2 in favor of SRH.
Here are the player battles to watch out for tonight.
#1 Jonny Bairstow vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Jonny Bairstow has witnessed a decent form in the last few games in the IPL 2022 as he has scored just 230 runs in 10 games at an average of 213 and will hope to continue the form as they looking to end the season on a high. Up against him will be an impressive Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who can bother Bairstow quite a bit considering his struggles against him in the past. The veteran quick has been good this season, bagging 13 wickets from 12 matches.
#2 Liam Livingstone vs Umran Malik
Liam Livingstone has also been witnessing a decent time in IPL 2022, and hoping to extend his form against the fiery pacer, Umran Malik. The big-hitting Englishman’s numbers against pace are woeful – as he has been dismissed 5 times at an average of just 6.80. Malik has had a good IPL stint, picking up 21 wickets from 13 matches. He will look to get the better of Livingstone by capitalizing on the all-rounder’s struggles in recent times.
#3 Arshdeep Singh vs Nicholas Pooran
Arshdeep Singh made a strong comeback with a 3-fer against the Delhi Capitals (DC). However, his devastating spell of 3/37 wasn’t enough for PBKS to win the game. Nicholas Pooran, meanwhile, has repeated his pattern of finding form in the second half of the edition with scores of 2,19, 62, and 64* in his last four matches. The SRH wicket-keeper’s ability to dig out yorkers and play shots while also combating sheer pace with succulent drives makes his contest with Arshdeep a spicy one.
