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.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
With Jonny Bairstow getting his form back, this could turn out to be a fascinating contest between SRH’s bowling attack and the flamboyant batting lineup of PBKS. But with just one spinner in their XI, SRH might not be able to make the most of the deteriorating wickets. Liam Livingstone hurt them the last time they met. Perhaps, using someone like T Natarajan smartly against the rampaging Englishman will help them to work out.
Probable XI: Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Washington Sundar, Romario Shepherd/Sean Abbott, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (C), T Natarajan, Umran Malik
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
PBKS’ high-risk approach might backfire heavily against SRH’s bowling unit if they lose early wickets. The last time these two teams met, the loss of early wickets left the lower order exposed against the fiery pace of Umran Malik and the youngster just broke through them to fetch four wickets. Kagiso Rabada has a favorable matchup against SRH’s finishers Nicholas Pooran and Washington Sundar, having dismissed them five times in the space of 42 deliveries.
Probable XI: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Benny Howell, Shahrukh Khan/Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan/Ishan Porel, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Nicholas Pooran, Jitesh Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rahul Tripathi (vc), Priyam Garg, Liam Livingstone (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Jonny Bairstow, Nicholas Pooran, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram (vc), Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Umran Malik
