IPL 2021, SRH vs PBKS: Here is the match preview
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings will square off in the 37th match of the IPL 2021. Sharjah will host the evening game of the Saturday's double-header. The Orange Army suffered a one-sided defeat to Delhi Capitals in their previous encounter. Meanwhile, Punjab lost to Rajasthan Royals from a winning position. They failed to get the winning runs. Here is the match preview.
A look at the head-to-head record
SRH have had the edge over PBKS in the head-to-head meetings. The two teams have clashed in 17 games, with SRH winning 12 of them. They have a win percentage of 70.59 against PBKS. Meanwhile, PBKS have managed to win five games (win percentage: 29.41). Notably, SRH have won four of the last seven encounters against PBKS.
A look at the key details
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the evening match (7:30 PM IST). This venue is famous for producing high-scoring encounters. The surface here is expected to be flat. Notably, both Punjab and Hyderabad won their previous matches here (in the 2020 edition). One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on the Hotstar app (paid subscription).
Will Punjab rope in Chris Gayle?
Punjab looked flawless in the run-chase against Rajasthan. However, they couldn't score four runs in the final over. Barring the 20th over, Punjab didn't falter much in the match. They could draft Chris Gayle in the impending game. Probable XI: KL Rahul (captain, wicket-keeper), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Adil Rashid, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel
A must-win game for SRH
This will be a must-win game for SRH, who are languishing at the bottom. Their middle-order lacks firepower, while the bowling is over dependant on Rashid Khan. Meanwhile, Sherfane Rutherford has left the bio-bubble following his father's demise. Probable XI: David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (captain), Kedar Jadhav, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Here are the top performers
Gayle has racked up 402 runs from 15 games at a strike rate of 141.54 against SRH. In the bowling segment, Shami has taken nine wickets with the best bowling performance of 2/36. Against PBKS, Warner has aggregated 943 runs at a strike rate of 140.11, while Bhuvneshwar has picked up 22 wickets with the best match haul of 5/19.
