Punjab and Hyderabad square off in the must-win encounter on Saturday evening in Indian T20 League 2020.
Match Timings: Oct 24, 7:30 PM
Team Preview
Punjab and Hyderabad stay in Dubai to find their route to the playoffs. This is one of the games which will play a major role to decide the top four spot. Punjab are fresh off three back-to-back victories to find themselves in a positive environment. The sensational comeback featured victories against top three sides of this season. With four more games to go, KL Rahul has something in the spell which can give them a clear playoff entry. If they overcome Hyderabad, they will face next Kolkata who is also a big rival for the top four spots. Two wins from the next two matches will propel their chances. In the last three matches, Punjab backed their batsmen to chase the total. The top-order is in magnificent form and Maxwell also got some runs to give a positive sign in middle-order. Shami and Jordan’s bowling at death is improving. Apart from Bishnoi and Ashwin, Maxwell is also proving a fine appearance as 6th bowling option. This one game will decide the future of both sides and it would be a cracker game of cricket.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad finally broke their losing streak in a style. After losing Warner and Bairstow, Hyderabad saw an outstanding stand from Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey. In the absence of Williamson, the duo guided Hyderabad home. The equation is pretty similar for Warner’s side as they have to win their all remaining games but first, they have to beat Punjab. Saturday’s win will make their chances strong as they are tied with Punjab on points. With better run-rate, they can upstage Kolkata from the 4th spot. Williamson’s availability is in doubt but Warner cannot avoid him in middle-order, despite an excellent bowling display from Holder. Hyderabad’s game will rely on their overseas players and if they roar in Dubai on Saturday, they will be in the race for the playoffs.
Pitch Report
Dubai’s surface is pretty decent for T20. It offers plenty of help to spinners and also provides help to pacers with the new ball. Middle-overs are crucial and chasing will be a better call in this crunch situation. Toss will play an important role.
Possible XI
Punjab
KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, James Neesham, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Hyderabad
David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Priyam Garg, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan
Key Players
Punjab
KL Rahul
This season – M: 10, Runs: 540, Avg: 67.50
Nicholas Pooran
This season – M: 10, Runs: 295, SR: 183.22
Hyderabad
David Warner
This season – M: 10, Runs: 335, Avg: 37.22
Rashid Khan
This season – M: 10, Wickets: 12, Avg: 18.25
