The quality of cricket has been wonderful in IPL 2017, but there are some teams that lack consistency. Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad are two such inconsistent sides and they will be keen to make amends when they take on each other at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Friday (April 28) night.
Kings XI Punjab come into this fixture with an impressive win over Gujarat Lions while Sunrisers Hyderabad's last game was washed out against Royal Challengers Bangalore. They had also lost their game before that against Rising Pune Supergiant and hence they will be in desperate mood to beat the Kings.
The SRH beat KXIP in their last encounter in a close match, despite Manan Vohra's brilliant 50-ball 95. The opener will once again be required to play a quality innings for KXIP at the top of the order alongside Hashim Amla.
The Kings XI Punjab have a strong batting line-up, and Shaun Marsh is expected to retain his place in the playing XI, which means David Miller will have to warm the bench this time too. However, Marcus Stoinis could face the axe with a fit Darren Sammy likely to play his first game of the season. The Australian has failed to impress so far, neither with the bat nor ball.
Sammy, who has led the Caribbeans to lift the T20 World Cup twice, can instill confidence in the team, and play an integral role as an all-rounder. The likes of Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma should spearhead the pace department while KC Cariappa and Axar Patel will shoulder the spin department.
For Sunrisers, they have some serious doubts over the participation of all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who is down with flu. The player also missed their game against RPS. Without Yuvraj, their batting looks a bit weak.
If Yuvraj is not fit, Bipul Sharma should get another game for SRH, and he has some big shoes to fill. But, SRH are going to look forward to the services of David Warner at the top of the order. He has been in great form in IPL 2017.
It is the defenders' bowling attack which looks brilliant. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan as their major wicket-takers, SRH have troubled opponents. Ashish Nehra should also come back into the manifold, in place of Siddarth Kaul.
Expected playing XI
Kings XI Punjab: Martin Guptill, Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Eoin Morgan, W Saha, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Ishant Sharma, KC Cariappa
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, S Kaul, Rashid Khan
