Sunrisers Hyderabad, placed fourth on the points table, and Kings XI Punjab, placed fifth, will lock horns in Hyderabad and the winner of this contest will be in great shape to qualify for the playoffs. Both the sides are top heavy, their spinners are frugal and there are concerns with the pace bowlers. However, now they need to put their best foot forward if they want to qualify for the playoffs.
This IPL season is alive and kicking even in its penultimate week.
Predicted XI of both the teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Hardus Viljoen, Sam Curran, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy tips and suggestions:
Wicket-keeper: Kings XI Punjab have used Nicholas Pooran as the wicket-keeper in the recent matches and he could be their trump card in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad as he could be shunted up the order.
Batsmen: KL Rahul, who has been in roaring form for KXIP this year, will hold the key once again for Punjab. In the last match against SRH, he combined brilliantly with Mayank Agarwal, who should be another pick, to hand KXIP an easy win.
Also, David Warner, who will be playing his final game of the season, remains the biggest threat for Kings XI Punjab in this fixture. And then there is Manish Pandey, a batsman who has suddenly erupted for SRH, and is one of the key members of this side. He has to come good for SRH, especially in the absence of Jonny Bairstow.
All-rounders: R Ashwin could play Sam Curran in this match as in his short career so far, he has displayed tremendous temperament in crunch situations which is exactly what is needed in this crucial tie.
Also, Mohammad Nabi, who could replace Shakib al Hasan, should be in the fantasy side, as he is a proven performer and always picks up wickets in the powerplay overs.
Spinners: R Ashwin has been one constant performer for KXIP this year and has been frugal with his off break. Also, he has been able to pick up wickets in the bargain which has impeded the progress of the opposition.
Also, Rashid Khan, who has been exciting and very effective this season, continues to pick up wickets and control the game in the middle overs.
Seamers: Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Two Indian seamers who hold the key with the ball for their respective sides will have to be penetrative both with the new as well as the old ball.
