Hyderabad and Punjab will take on each other in the 37th match of the Indian T20 League on Saturday in Sharjah. Both the teams are at the bottom two places in the points table. Just like the first phase, both the teams lost their first match in the second phase too. Also, considering the situation, both the teams need to win almost all their matches to secure a position in the playoffs.
Punjab’s Weak Middle Order
Despite a tremendous start, Punjab lost their last match against Rajasthan. The match stretched to the final over where Punjab needed 4 runs and failed to convert it into a win. Punjab had a strong grip throughout the match but the team lagged in the death overs. Punjab's batting is largely dependent on KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. In the last match, the duo had given a strong start to the team with a 120-run partnership. But soon after they both were dismissed, the rest of the team became unstable and couldn't deliver what they needed from the middle order.
To make a mark, Punjab needs to work on its middle order. The team has good batsmen like Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda and Fabian Allen, but there is no point of being good if they can't deliver runs in the middle order. The team's star player Chris Gayle, who played good innings for Punjab in the UAE last year, could be included in the playing XI.
Arshdeep Singh stood out in bowling as he took five wickets in the last match. Being the most experienced bowler in the team, Mohammed Shami will lead the bowling attack. Good bowling expectations are also from Adil Rashid and Ishaan Porel.
Hyderabad’s Worst Season
This season has been the worst for Hyderabad. Out of 8, Hyderabad managed to seal just 1 victory and lost 7 matches. The team's leading batsman David Warner did not do well in this season, he also went for a duck in the last match against Delhi. None of the batsmen in the team are able to convert a good start into a big score. Hyderabad also needs to find a replacement for Kedar Jadhav as he has been struggling with poor form for a long time.
The team has David Warner and Wriddhiman Saha among the top order batsmen, combined with an experienced player like Kane Williamson who adds depth to the middle order. But they have not been able to do much with the bat. Manish Pandey also got a good start in the last match but just like his other teammates, he could not convert it into a big score. Despite having a good batting line-up they have failed to perform in this season and going all the way up in the points table seems quite an impossible job for them.
Weather Report
The temperature in Sharjah will be around 34 degrees, with clear skies and no sign of precipitation. The weather will be hot and dry.
Pitch Report
Sharjah's pitch is excellent for batting as the boundary is too short, hence hitting boundaries is an easy task for the explosive batsmen. Considering that, it could be a high scoring match. After winning the toss, the teams would like to bowl first.
Probable Playing XI For Punjab
KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Adil Rashid, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishaan Porel
Probable Playing XI For Hyderabad
David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Kedar Jadhav, Jason Holder, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed
Key Players: Punjab
KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal
Key Players: Hyderabad
Rashid Khan, Manish Pandey
