The Sunrisers Hyderabad will want to pile on more misery on the Rising Pune Supergiants when the two teams meet on Tuesday. This IPL 2016 game in Hyderabad is a must-win for RPS, who are desperate to break a four-match losing run.
SRH, on the other hand, are coming off three consecutive wins, with their bowling and top-order batting working like a dream at the moment. Staying on that same course will be essential for the Sunrisers, if they are to finish this IPL 2016 league stage in the top four.
"Pune will be looking forward to a win and that is why it is going to be a very important match against them," SRH team mentor VVS Laxman was quoted as saying by the IPL's official website. "They have got an exceptionally talented and experienced side with captain MS Dhoni leading from the front. I am sure they will look to bounce back strongly.
Laxman believes modern cricket's favourite saying – execution of plans – will be key for the Sunrisers against RPS.
"We as a team are really pleased with the way the last two games have gone for us and are looking forward to continuing the momentum," the batting legend added. "We just need to stick to our plans and execute them properly.
"I believe if we do that, with the talent that we have got in our playing eleven and the squad, we can beat the best sides in the competition. It is just about being as consistent as possible and executing our plans."
The toss will be crucial again, considering all three matches played in Hyderabad in IPL 2016 have been won by the chasing team. While that might also be down the team batting first not putting a big enough score on the board – the highest first innings score has been 143 – bowling first will probably be the option that the winning captain will take up.
Either way, though, there is no doubt that RPS need to improve. While they have class batsmen at the top of the order, the fact that all three – Ajinkya Rahane, Faf Du Plessis and Steve Smith – are touch players rather than big hitters has led to RPS putting up scores that have been a little below par more often than not, or falling behind in the chase a little too early.
That needs to change against the Sunrisers, be that batting first or second. While the batting needs to improve, the same can be said of the bowling as well. Against KKR, in their last match, the bowlers failed to deliver after the batsmen gave them more than enough runs to defend. A solid all-round performance, like they managed against the Mumbai Indians, their only win of the season so far, is essential if RPS are to hand SRH a defeat and to arrest the slide.
Where to Watch Live
Match 22 of IPL 2016 -- Sunrisers Hyderabad vs RPS -- is scheduled for an 8 p.m. IST (3.30 p.m. BST, 10.30 a.m. ET) start, with live TV coverage of the match in India on Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD and Sony Max. Hotstar and Starsports.com will provide the online live streaming options for the match between GL and SRH.
Viewers from across the world can also watch SRH vs RPS by live streaming online on Cricketgateway.
OSN Sports Cricket is the place to be to watch the IPL 2016 match live in the Middle East and North Africa, while the action can also be live streamed on OSN Cricket Play.
Supersport and Supersport Live Video will give the audience in South Africa and Sub Sahran Africa an option to watch the match live on TV or online.
Viewers in the US can watch SRH vs RPS live on ESPN, while the game can also be live streamed on Watch ESPN.
Sportsnet and Watch Sportsnet will provide live coverage of the IPL 2016 game in Canada.
Sky Sports will show the match live in the UK and Ireland, with the live stream options on Watch Sky Sports and Sky Go.
