With just two weeks of IPL action left in store, with all the eight teams still in the race for the top four, the tournament is well poised now and assures the upcoming matches to be very thrilling ones. The second match of the Saturday double-header is scheduled to take place between the Kings Xl Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Stadium, the match will mark the 43rd match of the Indian Premier League 2020.
Both the teams will come into the match on the back of wins and this encounter could definitely decide the fate of the teams. The Sunrisers Hyderabad are placed 5th on the points table with 8 points. While the Punjab side has also bagged 8 points, they are placed one place below the Sunrisers vowing to a lower net run-rate.
The previous encounter between the two sides in this season saw the 2016 champions Sunrisers dominate the proceedings. The Sunrisers winning the toss chose to bat first and with the help of brilliant 97 from Jonny Bairstow and a half century from the bat of their captain David Warner helped SRH notch a winning total of 201. The KXIP were clueless in the chase barring the exceptional Nicholas Pooran who scored a quickfire 77 runs of 37 balls but the West Indian was out of partners. Which meant the Punjab side ended on the losing side by a whopping 69 runs.
Kings Xl Punjab after the addition of the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle have looked a reformed team and are on a three match winning streak. While the SRH after back to back losses bounced back well against the Rajasthan Royals to register a comfortable win by 8 wickets.
Can the Kings Xl Punjab make it four out of four? Or will Sunrisers be able to stop the resurgent KXIP and climb the ladder?
Match Toss Time: 17:30 Local (19:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 18:00 Local (19:30 IST)
Match Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Weather Report
The conditions are ideal for the sport as clear skies are reported throughout the day. The temperature is expected to be hovering in the 28- 30 degree range. While the humidity is expected to reach the mark of 52% around the second innings.
Pitch
The pitch in Dubai has been more friendly to the batsmen with the occasional odd bounce and spin favoring the slow bowlers. As seen in the last few matches any score of 170 by the team batting first seems to put the team chasing in trouble. With the match scheduled to take place in the evening, the due is once again expected to play a vital role.
Team News
KXIP have not reported any injuries and the players seem to be doing a wonderful job. The only concern would be the form of the Australian hard- hitter Glenn Maxwell. But the all- rounder has been doing a decent job with the ball and also showed glimpses of his true potential in the game against the Delhi Capitals. Given that, the management will not want to mess around with the winning combination.
Sunrisers Hyderabad on the other side made a huge change in form of Jason Holder in place of Kane Williamson. But was later revealed the change was a forced one as the kiwis captain is once again reported to be injured. Though the addiction of Jason Holder worked in favor of the Hyderabad side as the West Indian captain picked up three crucial wickets.
The Sunrisers are also likely to feature the same Xl that handed them a comfortable 8 wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals.
Probable Playing Xl
Kings Xl Punjab (KXIP): KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, James Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Priyam Garg, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan
KXIP vs SRH Fantasy Team
Nicholas Pooran, Jonny Bairstow, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Vijay Shankar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, T. Natarajan
Captain Picks: KL Rahul (KXIP), Jonny Bairstow (SRH)
Vice- Captain Picks: Manish Pandey (SRH), Nicholas Pooran (KXIP)
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