SRH lock horns with KXIP
Match 22 of the IPL will see Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lock horns against Kings eleven Punjab (KXIP) here in Dubai today.
The Mohali based outfit has had some good individual performances in the tournament so far but has failed to gel and perform as a team. Dare I say, a certain Mr. Ravichandran Ashwin is being missed.
Hyderabad hasn’t fared any better either. The team looks extremely top heavy and now with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar out of the entire tournament, the bowling looks circumspect.
KXIP Lineup
KXIP should start with the tried and tested, hugely successful opening pair of Rahul and Mayank. Rahul needs to be intentional about his game, and not get too defensive in the middle overs. Something that has hurt Kings in the previous matches. Mandeep at 3 looked like a natural in the last game, and should stay put there. At 4 and 5 are Pooran and still Maxwell. Maxwell has disappointed, but he is the best bet the Kings have in that position, and they have to let him get back to form. At 6 I will include Deepak Hooda. I still don’t understand how Sarfraz continues to get the nod over Hooda, I really don’t. At 7 will be Md Shami who continues to perform under pressure. At 8 I will include Mujeeb, the pace bowlers clearly are not doing it for them, might as well go to Mujeeb or go back to him if I may say so. At 9 is Bishnoi, this young spinner has spun a tale in this tournament and will look to do more of the same. At 10 will be Cottrell. And the last man will be Arshdeep Singh. This guy did well a couple of seasons back, and Kings will hope he does well again.
The Kings bowlers have mental scabs from the mauling they have received in the matches so far, in such a scenario it’s sometimes just wise to give new faces a go and hope for the best.
SRH Lineup
SRH will depend on the opening pair of Warner and Brestow again! Against this kings bowling they should not face too much trouble I suppose, but then again cricket is a funny game so you never know. At 3 will be Pandey, he has looked good in the last couple of games, has batted well but failed to register a big one. Let’s hope today is his day. At 4 is the superstar Kane Williamson, a player who nearly always goes under the radar, nearly always scores runs, and always puts the team first, more power to him. At 5 and 6 are Garg and Abhishek, this pair is improving its reputation with each passing game. At 7 will be the strapping young lad from Kashmir Abdul Samad. The lad has potential and should be taken care of. At 8, 9, 10, 11 will be the bowlers led by Rashid khan, the champion leg spinner from Afghanistan, Sandeep Sharma, Natarajan and Thampi will complete the lineup.
This match is for the ardent fans only and honestly I am having a hard time convincing my friends and family to watch it with me. Let’s hope it turns out to be a good game of cricket.
#MyPrediction
SRH should edge this one.
