What

Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad, who clash in Match 22 of VIVO IPL 2019, will look to bounce back from disappointing losses in their respective previous matches.

Kings XI, who have three wins from five matches, dominated three quarters of both innings in their match against the Chennai Super Kings, but just couldn’t close out the innings. They had CSK at 127 for 3, before conceding 33 runs of the final two overs. In the run chase, they recovered from a poor start through a 110-run third wicket partnership between KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, but neither batsman could switch gears, and therefore left themselves with too many to get in the final few overs. KXIP fell short by 23 runs.

The Sunrisers will want to forget their previous match in a hurry; chasing a modest target of 137, they were dismissed for 96 – their lowest total. Their middle order – which hadn’t had too much to do in the earlier matches – was exposed, and that is an area that needs urgent attention. There is a lot of ability in the Sunrisers middle order, but the need of the question is for those batsmen to put their hands up and deliver the goods when they are called upon.

Faced with a misfiring middle-order, the Sunrisers face a difficult selection decision; do they boost the batting by including the captain Kane Williamson (who has been nursing his injured shoulder), or do they stick with Mohammad Nabi as one of the four overseas players and hope one of the Indian batsmen in the middle will raise their game?

When

8 April 2019, 8pm IST

Where

IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Previous Match XIs:

Kings XI Punjab:KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin, M Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Andrew Tye.

Sunrisers Hyderabad:David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul.

Protagonists

Kings XI Punjab will be delighted that KL Rahul is back among the runs; the opener is a vital cog in the team’s batting plans, and if he can hold one end, it will all the rest of the batsmen in the team the opportunity to bat with freedom. Chris Gayle’s mere presence at the crease can be unnerving for many bowlers.The Jamaican has one eye on the forthcoming World Cup, and he will want to carry his good form through the remainder of the IPL season and into the global event in England.

From a batting perspective, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have pretty much piloted the Sunrisers’ three wins all by themselves. The one occasion they both failed – which was in the previous match against the Mumbai Indians, the Sunrisers were found wanting in the batting department. The pair has three century partnerships and one stand of 64 so far in the tournament, and those numbers illustrate how dominant they have been.

Head to Head in Indian Premier League

Overall: Matches – 12,Kings XI Punjab – 3, Sunrisers Hyderabad – 9.

In Mohali: Matches – 5, Kings XI Punjab – 1, Sunrisers Hyderabad – 4.

When these two teams met in Mohali last season, Chris Gayle demolished the Sunrisers bowling attack The KXIP opener brought up his half-century off 39 balls and cut loose subsequently; he singled out Rashid Khan, hitting him for four consecutive sixes in an over. He hit two more sixes thereafter, eventually finishing 104 not out off 63 balls. KXIP had 193 runs to defend, and their bowlers then restricted the visitors to 178-4.

Trivia

Kings XI Punjab have won their last 6 matches at the IS Bindra Stadium.

Sandeep Sharma has dismissed Chris Gayle on 4 occasions in the IPL; Gayle has only scored 58 runs of 54 balls off him.

Chris Gayle Vs. Rashid Khan in IPL: 43 runs, 18 balls, 6 sixes, 238.88 strike-rate