IPL 2022, SRH vs PBKS Preview: Hyderabad, Punjab look to bow out with a win in dead rubber contest at Wankhede

Aiden Markram (41 not-out off 27 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (35 not-out off 30 balls) then helped seal the win with Rahul Tripathi (34) also contributing with a trademark whirlwind knock.

SRH come into this game after breaking their five-match losing streak with a hard-fought 3-run victory over Mumbai Indians. Tripathi (76 off 44 balls) played a blinder while Priyam Garg (42 off 26 balls) provided a solid start despite playing his first game this term to help SRH post 193/6.

Umran Malik (3/23) helped pick up key wickets while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/26) was at his economical best as SRH snacthed a late-victory despite Tim David (46 off 18 balls) threatening to take things away with a blazing knock.

Meanwhile, Punjab suffered a 17-run defeat against Delhi Capitals in their last outing which ended their playoff hopes. Livingstone (3/27) and Arshdeep Singh (3/37) did their bit with the ball to help restrict DC to a below-par total of 159/7.

However, barring Jitesh Sharma (44 off 34 balls), the other PBKS batters failed to deliver, with only four players posting double-digit scores as Punjab limped to just 142/9 in reply.

Both sides have been knocked out of the race for the playoffs but will be eager to end their season on a high and players will want to impress and lay stake for a spot looking towards next season.

SRH Team News: Captain Kane Williamson has travelled back to New Zealand for the birth of his second child and will be missing for this game. Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Nicholas Pooran will be expected to lead the team for this game.

PBKS Team News: Punjab don’t have any injury concerns but might be keen to give a few youngsters a chance with nothing left to play for in this dead rubber fixture.

SRH vs PBKS Pitch Report: The pitch at the Wankhede Stadium has proved to be a belter in the last two games with batters really going after the bowlers. Three out of the last four games have been won by the chasing teams with Hyderabad the only side in that list to successfully defend a total.

Where to Watch LIVE: Match starts at 7.30 pm IST on Sunday, May 22, with the Toss scheduled for 7.00 pm IST. The match will be telecast live on the Star Sports network. Viewers can also tune into the action via the Disney+ Hotstar.

Top Batting Picks: Shikhar Dhawan is going through a lean patch but is still Punjab’s leading scorer this season with 421 runs from 13 games. Rahul Tripathi meanwhile is in a rich vein of form and is fresh from recording his highest-score this season in the last game. Tripathi is also SRH’s top-scorer with 393 runs.

Top All-Rounder Picks: Liam Livingstone is the second-highest run-getter for Punjab this season with 388 runs and has also chipped in with 6 wickets this season. Washington Sundar has had a quiet season, which has also been affected by injuries, but he’ll be eager to finish with a big performance.

Top Bowling Picks: Umran Malik was again impressive in the last game after a few expensive outings and is SRH’s leading wicket-taker with 21 runs from 13 games this term. Kagiso Rabada is another speedster to watch out for in this game and leads the bowling charts for PBKS with 22 wickets.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Predicted XI): Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (C), Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik and T Natarajan/Kartik Tyagi.

Punjab Kings (Predicted XI): Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Shahrukh Khan, Liam Livingstone, Mayank Agarwal (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singhj.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Full Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Shashank Singh, Romario Shepherd, Marco Jansen, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sean Abbott, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Tiwary, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.

Punjab Kings Full Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (C), Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Vaibhav Arora, Nathan Ellis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.