The UAE leg of the IPL hasn’t brought much luck to the two bottom-ranked sides. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings have struggled to get going in the tournament. They both have lost games from positions they had no business losing. These narrow defeats have hurt them badly. Both these teams are now looking at elimination. They need a miracle to stay alive in contention.

SRH vs PK: Form Preview

The orange army is yet to rise:

Sunrisers Hyderabad came unstuck against Delhi Capitals in Dubai. They had no clue about the pace of the Delhi bowlers. They huffed and puffed their way to a score of 134. SRH never really looked threatening during the entire game. They were behind the eight-ball right since David Warner was dismissed off the 3rd ball.

SRH have now lost 7 of their first 8 games. They need to win all their remaining 7 games to entertain any hopes of qualification. SRH have done it before but it looks too steep a task this time around given the turmoil around the team. But ironically their next match is against Punjab. A side they defeated in the earlier fixture to notch their lone win this season up until now.

Punjab will rue the loss against Royals:

Punjab Kings haven’t fared much better either. They are currently 7th in the points table with 3 wins in 9 games. The Kings could have very well booked a seat in the mid-table but they threw it away in the last minute against the Royals. 

They needed 10 runs in 15 balls chasing 186 with 8 wickets in hand. The equation was then reduced to 8 of 2 overs and finally 4 off 1 over. But in what can be called as an epic choke, Kings went on to lose the game. They too much like SRH seem to have squandered their chances. A defeat like that isn’t easy to brush away. They will be up against SRH, a side they had earlier lost to in the season. 

SRH vs PK: Favourites?

Time is ticking fast for both these teams. They can ill afford to slip at this stage. SRH need David Warner to fire big time. If he gets going, SRH will look like a different outfit. Kings on the other hand are too reliant on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. They are unable to finish matches once these two get out.

Which players will be match-winners in this game?

David Warner has to set the stage on fire for SRH. His inspirational batting performance will be key to SRH.

Mayank Agarwal looked in great form in the last game. His aggressive approach at the top is good news for PK.

X-factor player:

Rashid Khan is yet to deliver a sensational performance this season. This might just be that game.

Punjab Kings might look into draft Chris Gayle into the setup. He might prove to be the X-factor PK need.

Probable Playing XI:

Sunrisers Hyderabad predicted XI:

David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey,  Kane Williamson, Priyam Garg/Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma/Siddharth Kaul

Punjab Kings predicted XI:

KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle/Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Harpreet Brar, Chris Jordan/Adil Rashid, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh

What do stats say about SRH vs PK?

SRH and PK have played 17 IPL games against each other.

SRH has won 12 games. PK has won 5 matches. 

SRH’s highest score against PK is 212. PK’s highest score against SRH is 211. 

SRH’s lowest score against PK is 114. PK’s lowest score against SRH is 119.

Pitch:

Sharjah pitch is a batsmen’s paradise. The short boundaries add to the bowlers’ plight. But the venue did show signs of wearing down later last IPL. But a fresh wicket is expected to aid run-scoring. Expect a run-fest.

Weather Report:

A high of 38 degrees and a low of 31 degrees is expected. There are no chances of rain. Dew might have its say later in the innings.

Ground stats:

Teams batting first have won 60% of the games at this venue. But of late owing to the dew, teams have preferred chasing at this venue. Average scores come up to a high 170 at this venue. A score of around 180+ will be par at Sharjah.

StumpsandBails verdict:

It is a battle for the much-needed points between PK and SRH. SRH might just give a better account of themselves in this game.