Sammy boost for Kings XI in mid-table tussle
Match facts
Kings XI Punjab v Sunrisers Hyderabad
Mohali, April 28, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)
Head-to-head
This season: Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 5 for 19 eclipsed Manan Vohra's 50-ball 95 and helped Sunrisers defend 159 at home.
Overall: Sunrisers have an enviable 7-2 win record.
In the news
West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy, who missed the first three weeks of this IPL due to injury, joined the squad on the eve of the first match in Mohali this season. Sammy could be a like-for-like replacement for Marcus Stoinis who hasn't fired with bat or ball. The Australian allrounder has limped to 17 runs off 24 balls in three innings, and has taken only two wickets at an economy rate of 10.47.
Sunrisers fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was set to join the Bangladesh squad on Tuesday for a preparatory camp ahead of the tri-series in Ireland, and the subsequent Champions Trophy, but will now be available until May 4.
However, there is uncertainty over Yuvraj Singh's availability. It remains to be seen if he has recovered from the flu, which forced him out of Sunrisers' previous match against Rising Pune Supergiant last week.
The likely XIs
Kings XI Punjab: 1 Manan Vohra, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Glenn Maxwell (capt), 5 Marcus Stoinis/Darren Sammy, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 KC Cariappa, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 T Natarajan
Sunrisers Hyderabad 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Moises Henriques, 5 Yuvraj Singh/Deepak Hooda, 6 Naman Ojha (wk), 7 Bipul Sharma, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mohammed Siraj/Ashish Nehra, 11 Siddarth Kaul
Strategy punt
Since Sunrisers have two left-hand batsmen at the top, there is, perhaps, a case for Kings XI to open the bowling with an offspinner in Glenn Maxwell and attack the stumps. Mumbai Indians offspinner Harbhajan Singh maintained a stump-to-stump line with the new ball and kept Warner and Dhawan to only 22 runs off 18 balls while also dismissing Warner earlier in the league. More recently, Rising Pune Supergiant offspinner Washington Sundar stifled Sunrisers' openers in the Powerplay.
Stats that matter
- Warner has excellent numbers against Kings XI in the IPL: 617 runs in 14 innings at a strike-rate of 143.15, including fifty-plus scores in his last five innings.
- Maxwell has scored 78% of his runs this season in boundaries. He has hit 150 of his 193 runs in fours and sixes.
- The average runs per wicket at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in IPL 2016 was 31.36, in seven matches, the third highest behind the MCA Stadium in Pune and the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
- Sunrisers have the second-lowest run rate - 7.38 - in the first six overs this season. They try to make up for the slow start by going big in the middle overs. Sunrisers' run rate of 8.87 during this period is the second best in the league this season.
- Kings XI have been the worst team in the slog overs this season, leaking 11.62 an over and picking up only eight wickets. Sunrisers have fared much better in this phase, conceding 9.54 runs an over while picking up 19 wickets.
- Shikhar Dhawan continues to be troubled by left-arm quicks in the IPL. Four bowlers have dismissed him three or more times. Of the four, three - James Faulkner, Zaheer Khan and Mitchell Johnson - are left-arm seamers. Dhawan v T Natarajan, who has the best economy among Kings XI's seamers, might be an interesting contest.