Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad are currently in the bottom two places and will try to climb up the points table when they meet at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
SRH has started with three defeats in a row, ceding the advantage from promising positions in all three chases. It needs to solve a middle-order muddle.
David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have been aggressive, but there remains a question mark over the batting line-up, not least around Manish Pandey, who has failed to close games out.
Williamson could play
Kane Williamson, if fit, could play. Bairstow donning the keeping gloves could open up a slot for Kedar Jadhav.
SRH’s bowling is its strongest suit: an array of options, with Rashid Khan as a genuine wicket-taking threat in the middle overs.
But the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be a concern. He has gone for 120 runs in three matches and picked up just two wickets.
Meanwhile, PBKS will draw inspiration from Mayank Agarwal’s return to form. He made a 36-ball 69 against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
The side has quality batsmen in K.L. Rahul, Chris Gayle and Deepak Hooda, but the bowling is spread thin.
Mohammed Shami, Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith have gone for runs, with Arshdeep Singh, currently its highest wicket-taker, being the only outlier.
PBKS could consider including Chris Jordan to break the sameness in the pace attack.
The game will give an early indication of whether one of these teams can go deep in the tournament.
