April 9 (Punjab Khabarnama) : IPL Live Score 2024 PBKS vs SRH: Punjab Kings will aim to cut down on their inconsistency when they on the ultra-aggressive Sunrisers Hyderabad in the mid-table clash at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, in Chandigarh. Punjab and Hyderabad have secured two wins each and lost their other two matches, thus standing at sixth and fourth spot, respectively, with SRH placed higher owing to their superior net run rate.
For SRH, their strength certainly lies in their batting with with their top-order firing on all cylinders on most occasions. In the match against Mumbai Indians, they scored 277, the highest-ever team total in IPL history, before notching up a convincing six-wicket win over defending champions Chennai Super Kings on Friday. Both their wins came at home. It is the powerplay where Sunrisers have dominated the most, scoring over 11 runs per over. The likes of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram have consistently taken the attack to the opposition bowlers, providing the team with blistering starts.
Punjab too have their potential with their batting, which comprises some big-hitters in Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone. However, they need their Indian counterparts, Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma, to step up just like Shashank Singh, who pulled off a heist in their previous match against Gujarat Titans with his highest-ever T20 score of a 29-ball 61*.
Both SRH and Punjab have shown their struggles in the bowling department. While Punjab has struggled at the death overs, Sunrisers faltered with the new ball. For PBKS, South African speedster Kagiso Rabada has been their standout performer with six wickets along with spinner Harpreet Brar, but the performance of death-over specialist Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel has been a concern.
For Sunrisers, captain Pat Cummins, who has picked five wickets in four matches, has lacked support from the likes of Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have conceded too many runs.
It is a 3-2 head-to-head count between SRH and PBKS in the last five meetings, indicating that a tight battle is likely to be on the cards in Chandigarh.
