IPL 2023: Sunrisers Hyderabad hopes for first win against Punjab Kings

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be keen to inculcate a fresh approach when it faces an upbeat Punjab Kings in the 14th match of the IPL 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Published : Apr 08, 2023 18:58 IST , HYDERABAD - 4 MINS READ

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be keen to inculcate a fresh approach when it faces an upbeat Punjab Kings in the 14th match of IPL 2023.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will be keen to inculcate a fresh approach when it faces an upbeat Punjab Kings in the 14th match of IPL 2023. | Photo Credit: AP
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Sunrisers Hyderabad will be keen to inculcate a fresh approach when it faces an upbeat Punjab Kings in the 14th match of IPL 2023. | Photo Credit: AP

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be keen to inculcate a fresh approach when it faces an upbeat Punjab Kings in the 14th match of the IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. 

Having got off to a losing start this season, the 2016 IPL winners will aim to resurrect their campaign against a Shikhar Dhawan-led side who have ticked almost all boxes in this tournament so far.  

The story so far 

Sunrisers opened its IPL campaign against Rajasthan Royals on the 12th anniversary of India’s 2011 World Cup win. However, in a stadium looking like a sea of orange, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal of the Royals put up a batting exhibition and sent the Sunrisers’ bowlers on a leather hunt by smashing brilliant half-centuries. And in reply, in front of a boisterous crowd, the home side imploded by sunset as Rajasthan breached the Sunrisers’ fort by 72 runs. 

The caravan then moved to Lucknow armed with hope as the South African trio of Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen added weight and dimension to the squad. Markram also took over the captaincy reigns from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 

If the Rajasthan top-order put the Sunrisers to the sword, it was the trio of Krunal Pandya, Amit Mishra and Ravi Bishnoi who lured the Sunrisers batters into a spin trap and eked out a five-wicket win in Lucknow. 

The batting conundrum 

In both these games it was the batting that let Sunrisers down. Its batters getting caged in the middle is an issue that the team would like to address. Harry Brook became the first millionaire of the IPL 2023 auction as Sunrisers purchased the Englishman for a whopping Rs 13.25 crore, but his bat hasn’t done any talking yet. Sunrisers will hope the middle-order batter delivers in the coming matches.  

The spotlight turns on another seasoned India international, Mayank Agarwal. Mayank, who captained Punjab Kings in the 2022 edition, was released by the franchise and was signed by Sunrisers for Rs 8.25 crore. Partnering with Anmolpreet Singh, the opener has struggled to get off the blocks and step on the gas in the Powerplay. The likes of Anmolporeet, Rahul Tripathi and Abdul Samad got starts but failed to convert them into big ones.  

The bowling is spearheaded by veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who captained the side in the first game in the absence of designated skipper Markram. Sunrisers thrive on the pace of Umran Malik, which has always been his ally, while T Natarajan brings in the skills and variations. Washington Sundar and Adil Rashid complement each other in the spin department but Sunrisers has failed to click as a unit. And Sunday presents an opportunity to keep the home fans engaged as the tournament progresses.  

Dhawan leads in style 

Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan continues to charm with his kabaddi-style celebrations as his side opened its campaign with a seven-run win (DLS method) over Kolkata Knight Riders and then dug deep to clinch a cliffhanger against Rajasthan Royals by just five runs in a last-over thriller. 

The skipper is leading well from the front as he smashed his 48th IPL half-century and is the top Indian batter with the most half-centuries in the IPL. Opener Prabhsimran Singh scored his maiden IPL half-century, and the side has been impressive in its two outings. 

Well-oiled unit 

Punjab is off to a brilliant start having won both its matches with the likes of Dhawan, Prabhsimran and Bhanuka Rajapaksa among the runs.

The middle-order, packed with the likes of Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan and Sam Curran, chipped in with valuable contributions. Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis have also kept the Punjab flag soaring high by making early breakthroughs with Curran checkmating the opposition by defending totals with nerves of steel at the death overs. 

Meanwhile, languishing at the bottom of the table, Sunrisers needs to reboot its engine, primarily in the batting department, entrusting its batters to take control of the campaign’s steering wheel. 

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