Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will be keen on getting their second win of IPL 2016 and at least move up from the bottom of the table, as they get set to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their fifth match of the campaign. The hosts, however, cannot be underestimated at home as they defeated defending champions Mumbai Indians earlier in the competition this season.
The two sides clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.
SRH currently have two wins from four games and are fifth in IPL 2016. A win can take them to the top four temporarily. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner can fire up right from the start, making the most use of the momentum from their side's two consecutive wins in the tournament.
The duo shone with their terrific performance as the Hyderabad side thumped Gujarat Lions in their last game. Warner scored an unbeaten 74, while Dhawan scored an unbeaten 53 runs to build a 137-run match-winning partnership, and thrash the Lions by 10 wickets in Rajkot.
"Batting with Warner takes pressure off me, he's in such good form," Dhawan told the IPL website. "He gave us such a good start - when the team score was 50, he had scored about 30-35 of those runs and the rest were mine. So it is helpful, I am thankful that he is leading from the front and batting amazingly."
Yuvraj Singh is still not fit to take part in his first game of IPL 2016. The Indian hotshot will not be missed, but middle-order batsmen Deepak Hooda and Eoin Morgan have done quite well so far for the SRH.
KXIP are under pressure to perform and they have to come out with some sheer good performance to record a favourable result against the home team. Much was expected of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller, but the duo have never really settled in the tournament this time around. Shaun Marsh, meanwhile, scored an unbeaten half century in their game against Kolkata Knight Riders, but even that couldn't guarantee them the win.
Experienced Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, too, has not been impressive.
"Obviously, we have not had the greatest of the starts," Miller was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. "The table is pretty tight at the moment. But, we do want to win [against SRH] and change a lot of things.
"We have to stay positive and ready for the battle. We are just going to stay mentally strong and make sure that we do our basics right. Keep it simple and no more things," the South African added.
Where to watch live
IPL 2016: SRH vs KXIP is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. IST (2:30 p.m. GMT, 10:30 a.m. ET) on April 23.
Viewers in India can can catch the action on Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. Online streaming will be available on Hotstar and Starsports.com.
Viewers in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports, with online streaming available on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can watch the game live on ESPN, with the online streaming option available on Watch ESPN.
The live scores of the game are available on Cricketgateway.
