IPL 2022: Match 28 – Predicted Punjab Kings Playing XI vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
PBKS has been solid with their batting performances.
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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) have blown hot and cold in IPL 2022 with three wins in five appearances. The team’s batting performances have improved and are posting strong scores on the board in the last few matches, while their bowling still need to be better in pressure situations. In the last outing, they secured a victory by 12 runs against Mumbai Indians (MI).
In their sixth league match, they will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who are on a winning spree and will give PBKS a tough competition. However, no changes are expected from the PBKS side in this fixture, as the team has more positives than negatives from the last outing. They are expected to put trust in players like Jonny Bairstow and Vaibhav Arora, who were average against MI.
Here’s a look at the Punjab Kings predicted XI against SRH:
Openers: Mayank Agarwal (c) and Shikhar Dhawan
One of the most solid opening pairs in this season hold a key role to provide a good start to the team. Both the players, Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan unlocked their potential in the last league match against MI, where they formed a base for the team to post a strong total of 198 on the board. With them in fine form, the team looks potent with a fantastic batting line-up in the middle-order.
Mayank produced his best performance in the last fixture by scoring 52 off 32 balls, which was his best knock in the tournament so far. In total, he has 94 runs in five innings to his name at a strike rate of 130.56. Apart from his batting performance, Mayank has backed the bowlers during the crunch moments, and is gradually forming to be a fine leader.
Mayank’s opening partner, Shikhar is the leading run-scorer for the team with 197 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 133.11. In the last fixture, he contributed 70 off 50 balls, and led the batting from the front, as he always did with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the last few editions of the tournament. He would look to continue the same form for helping the team to maintain the winning momentum.
Middle-order: Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan
The middle-order of the team comprises batters like Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma, and Shahrukh Khan. So far, Bairstow has been rather average with only 20 runs in two innings. But, he has amassed over 1000 runs in 30 appearances in his IPL career, and is expected to make a fighting comeback due to his track record.
The wicketkeeper, Jitesh Sharma has made great strides in this tournament to deliver quickfire knocks for the team. In three innings, he has scored 79 runs at a strike rate of 183.72. His knock of 30* off 15 balls propelled the team to post a strong score on the board in the previous match, and will be valuable in the upcoming matches.
The proven performer in the domestic circuit, Shahrukh Khan has been quiet in this edition. In five innings, he has garnered 60 runs at a strike rate of 120, which is average by his standards. In the last fixture, he scored 15 off six, including two maximums.
All-rounders: Liam Livingstone and Odean Smith
The most important aspect of PBKS is the performance of their all-rounders. The likes of Liam Livingstone and Odean Smith mark their presence in this category. Both the players have played a key role in the tournament and have had a great impact on the outcome of the matches.
The Englishman, Livingstone has finally justified the price tag and fulfilled the expectations of cricket fans by doing well in the initial matches of this season. In five innings, he has slammed 164 runs at a strike rate of 186.36. Although he scored just two runs in the last fixture he has been in sublime six-hitting form, which is great for PBKS.
The Caribbean all-rounder, Smith helped the team to secure victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by hitting 25* off eight deliveries earlier in the season. Since then, he has got limited opportunities with the bat and has a total of 38 runs to his name. In the bowling unit, he has picked up six wickets at an expensive economy of 12.14. But he showed signs of improvement in pressure situations with figures of 4/30 off three overs in the last fixture.
Bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh
The team has a talented bowling attack having the presence of Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh and the youngster Vaibhav Arora. In four appearances, Rabada has picked up six wickets at an economy of 8.21, and has contributed 38 runs with the bat as well. In the last outing, he finished with figures of 2/29 off four overs.
The spinner, Rahul Chahar was hit for 28 runs off his single over by Dewald Brevis (the over went for 29 runs in total), but he contained the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard in the last fixture. He finished with figures of 0/44 off four overs, which depicts his mental toughness. In five matches, he has scalped a total of seven wickets at an economy of 7.25.
One of the two retained players, Arshdeep Singh has been impeccable with his line-lengths in death overs, but has picked only two wickets in five matches. On the other hand, Vaibhav has done well to pick three wickets in three matches. Although he went for 1/43 off his four overs in the last game, but has done well with the new ball in the tournament.
PBKS’s predicted playing XI for the SRH’s clash: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh
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