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Kings out to stop rising Hyderabad

MOHALI:Buoyed by their victory over Chennai Super Kings, hosts Kings XI Punjab would like to stop Sunrisers Hyderabad’s winning juggernaut when the two sides meet here on Thursday.

Kings out to stop rising Hyderabad

Rashid Khan and Yusuf Pathan of Sunrisers Hyderabad during a practice session. Vicky



Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 18 

Buoyed by their victory over Chennai Super Kings, hosts Kings XI Punjab would like to stop Sunrisers Hyderabad’s winning juggernaut when the two sides meet here on Thursday.

Kane Williamson-led Sunrisers have won all their three matches and sit at the top of the points table, while the new-look Kings XI under Ravichandran Ashwin have been a bit inconsistent in their performance.

They won their opening match against Delhi Daredevils, but succumbed to Royal Challengers Bangalore in an away game, before managing to score a four-run win over Chennai at home.

Inconsistent middle-order

While KL Rahul has been in great nick, Chris Gayle’s addition has lent solidity to Kings XI’s top-order. Mayank Agarwal looked good against CSK while playing at No. 3, but the 27-year-old needs to be more consistent.

Karun Nair has settled down well in his role in the middle-order, scoring a vital 50 against Delhi and following it up with a 29 each against RCB and CSK.   

The real concern, though, will be the form of Aussie import Aaron Finch and veteran Yuvraj Singh.

While Finch has not been able to open his account in the previous two matches, Yuvraj has been erratic. Though the 36-year-old showed glimpses of his past with a 13-ball 20 against CSK, Kings XI would want him to share more responsibility and shepherd the middle order, which otherwise has been looked inconsistent.

Run flow

The bowling attack led by skipper Ashwin looks settled, but they would certainly want to keep a check on the run flow, particularly in the death overs.

Speedsters Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran and Andrew Tye have all been guilty of leaking too many runs.

The spin trio of Ashwin, Axar Patel and 17-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman, though, has been successful in holding back the opposition. Rahman in particular has been very impressive with the ball.      

However, Patel has been forced out for a couple of matches with an injury, and it will be interesting to see whether spin all-rounder Pradeep Sahu gets a chance. The other option can be left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar.  

Consistent Sunrisers 

Sunrisers, on the other hand, have looked the most balanced side in the tournament so far, with Shikhar Dhawan and Williamson holding the fort at the top and experienced Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan guiding the middle-order. 

Deepak Hooda has also come of age and looked impressive during his match-winning 32-run knock against Mumbai Indians. 

Manish Pandey, though, has not been among the runs and the team would want him to come good against Kings on Thursday. Yusuf Pathan also needs to pull up his socks if Sunrisers want to maintain their winning streak. 

Sunrisers bowling has been impressive with Bhuvneshwar Kumar herding the flock well. Siddarth Kaul and Billy Stanlake have been good at the death, while Shakib and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan have given away very little in the middle overs.   

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