Internet Desk: Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s poor show in this edition of IPL will be in focus when the struggling Rising Pune Supergiant face defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in a crucial Indian Premier League encounter on Saturday.
Pune is struggling just like last season as they are lying seventh in the points table with just four points in their kitty. They have lost three matches and won two in their last five matches in IPL season 10.
After losing three successive games Steve Smith’s men came back to the winning ways as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last match and would want to continue that winning momentum.
For the hosts, MS Dhoni’s poor form is a cause of concern. The former RPS skipper has scored 12*, 5, 11, 5 and 28 respectively in last five matches.
Regarded as one of the game’s best finishers, Dhoni’s performance has always been the key for his former team Chennai Super Kings, a side he led to the title in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Pune would hope he gets his midas touch back.
Pune’s batting has so far revolved around skipper Smith and Ajinkya Rahane, who have been their best run-scorers.
After their last match, Smith decided to take a short six-day tour of Dubai with his wife and baby. The break should rejuvenate the prolific Australian, whose form is crucial for the side.
All-rounder Ben Stokes, the costliest buy of IPL 10, too has contributed with a half century against Kings XI Punjab in Indore.
In the bowling department, leg-spinner Imran Tahir has been Pune’s best bowler with eight wickets, while Shardul Thakur and Stokes have also claimed fours wickets each. But the team’s bowling still lacks the zing which is required to challenge an opponent.
Reigning champions Hyderabad, on the other hand, have been pretty consistent with four wins out of six matches to be placed at the third position.
After a rampaging start, Sunrisers suffered losses against Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders in successive matches but they brought their campaign back on track with victories over Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils.
Skipper David Warner has led his team from the front, scoring bulk of their runs and he has been supported well by India’s Shikhar Dhawan.
Both the batsmen have scored more than 200 runs so far in IPL and they would look to continue their rich vein of form tomorrow.
Bowling has complemented Hyedrabad’s batsmen with seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and young Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan holding the first and third spots respectively in the highest wicket-takers’ list with 15 and 9 wickets respectively so far.
Teams (from):
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (C ), Tanmay Agarwal, Ricky Bhui, Bipul Sharma, Ben Cutting, Shikhar Dhawan, Eklavya Dwivedi, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Siddharth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ben Laughlin, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra, Naman Ojha (wk), Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Barinder Sran, Pravin Tambe, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh.
Rising Pune Supergiant: Steve Smith (capt), Faf du Plessis, Adam Zampa, Usman Khawja, M S Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Ankus Bains, Rajat Bhatia, Ankit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Jaskarn Singh, Baba Aparajith, Deepak Chahar, Mayank Agarwal, Dnaiel Christian, Luckie Farguson, Ben Stokes and Manoj Tiwary.
With inputs from PTI.