The Sunrisers Hyderabad are all set to take on the Kings XI Punjab on a Thursday night at the Dubai International Stadium. Looking at both sides, David Warner’s Sunrisers coming on after a 34-run loss against the in-form Mumbai Indians, and they have a lot to fix in them. Their lead bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s exit is definitely going hurt them, how bad it will be is what we’ll be finding out.
On the other side, run machine KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab is also coming from a highly disappointing 10-wicket loss against the mighty Chennai Super Kings. While their openers Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul are in top form, occupying two spots in the top three, competing amongst themselves for the orange cap. Seems like the best of friends jokingly are in a competition of their own.
While the Kings XI Punjab have to stop relying on their opening partnership to get them off the last spot in the table, Sunrisers have to get their batting up-front going, which we haven’t witnessed this season.
This season hasn’t been the best of starts for Sunrisers Hyderabad, currently placed sixth on the table, let’s see what they bring to table against the yet to be crowned Kings. Expect this match to be an exciting and highly intense clash between both the powerful batting sides, here’s a list of the top 5 players to watch out for.
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Let’s take a look at the top 5 key players we should watch out for when Sunrisers Hyderabad lock horns with Kings XI Punjab :
1. KL Rahul
The ‘Klassy’ KL Rahul has been in tremendous form since the 2019 summer, consistent and unstoppable. Given the Captain’s responsibility for his side this year, he has taken it with grace and performs brave upfront.
The Leading run-scorer for Kings XI Punjab this season, with an average of 75.50, standing right at top of the table for most runs, with 2 half-centuries and a massive 132(69) in just 5 innings, he expects you to know what he is capable of.
2. David Warner
The Aussie leading his team Sunrisers Hyderabad hasn’t been up to his standards until now in this edition of Dream 11 IPL. It could be called average at best, just like his side Sunrisers Hyderabad has been performing this entire season, placing them in the bottom half of the table.
He has the responsibility to score some substantial runs at the top of the order for his team, which he is very well capable off, to be one of the contenders for the playoffs.
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3. Mayank Agarwal
The Punjab top-order batsman has been in some form this season. Just a few runs behind his captain placed third in the race for orange cap, he has been striking the ball very fluently and is a delight to watch when he performs.
With an extraordinary strike-rate of 162.87 for an opener, he so far holds a half-century and a century as well under his name in just five innings. He single-handedly shifts away from the entire momentum from the opposition making him valuable and one to watch out for.
4. Jonny Bairstow
The English wicket-keeper batsman has been one of the highest run-scores for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has been a proven performer at the top of the order while opening the batting order with his captain David Warner seems like is yet to turn on the party.
Along with the captain, the duo formed as a threatening opening pair helping the Sunrisers get off to a flying start. We expect nothing different from Bairstow and are waiting for him to blaze up.
5. Mohammed Shami
Ever since the bowler has found his mojo back in limited-overs cricket, he has been giving off some stellar performances for his side. Shami has been leading the Kings XI Punjab pace attack and his experience has been vital.
With 8 wickets in 5 innings, he is the highest wicket-taker for his side and is one of the leading contenders for the purple-cap. The Dubai Stadium pitch offers Shami perfect bounce and swing for him to be dangerous, making him one to watch out for.