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IPL 2016 preview: Rampant Sunrisers Hyderabad face Pune Superflops

MS Dhoni's faltering RPS will have their task cut out against a resurgent SRH who have turned the tables around with three back-to-back wins.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, SRH, Rising Pune Supergiants, RPS, SRH v RPS, SRH RPS, RPS v SRH, MS Dhoni, Dhoni, SRH RPS IPL, IPL news, IPL David Warner has been in superb form for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the on-going IPL and they would look up to him to deliver against RPS on Tuesday. (Source: PTI)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has not had it this bad in the Indian Premier League. Four losses from five games, and the Rising Pune Supergiants are currently languishing in the seventh spot in the team rankings. What’s even worse is that they will miss the services of Kevin Pietersen, who hobbled off the pitch during their encounter against the Gujarat Lions. Their team selection has also been baffling to say the least. Take the instance of Mitchell Marsh. The Western Australian has so far featured in only two of Pune’s five games. He is a genuine all-rounder, who will give you the depth in batting and bowling. In the absence of Pietersen, one suspects the all-rounder might just his opportunity.

Dhoni’s faltering side will have their task cut out against a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have turned the tables around with three back-to-back wins — Mumbai Indians (by 7 wickets), Gujarat Lions (by 10 wickets) and Kings XI Punjab (by 5 wickets) — to put them in the fourth spot.

With bat
SRH captain has scored 294 runs from five games, which includes four half centuries. The 30-year-old is just behind Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli who is leading the list of run-getters, notching up 367 runs from five games. The big relief for Hyderabad would be the return to form of their opener Shikhar Dhawan, after flopping in the first three matches of the season. Dhawan regained his touch with unbeaten 53 against Gujarat Lions and 45 against Kings XI Punjab. Others like Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan and wicket-keeper Naman Ojha, have also made useful contributions under crunch situations, to bail their team out of trouble. Pune, on the other hand have still not got their act together in batting. With KP out of the IPL, Dhoni’s side will find it difficult to find a replacement for him. Their head coach Stephen Fleming did not mince words when he said that his side were still struggling to get their combination spot on. “We are just trying to find a combination. Because we are new team, we are trying to understand what combinations will work. It’s not ideal but if we win 2 or 3 games in a row we probably will settle down. We are conscious about it and are just working on the combinations that will give us the results we need,” he said.

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With ball
Despite the absence of Ashish Nehra, SRH bowlers have made an impact to make it difficult for their rivals. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been leading SRH’s bowling department and is currently the second-highest wicket taker with eight scalps from five games. But it is young Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman who has been the most impressive. He has been using his variations to perfection in IPL 9. Mustafizur, in fact, is fourth on the wicket takers list with seven scalps but it is his misery economy rate of 5.75 per over that what has impressed most. If Pune include Mitchell Marsh, it will give Dhoni the much needed ammunition with the ball.

News from the bench
SRH has been hit hard by injuries to Ashish Nehra, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh. It is unlikely that Nehra will be fit for the game today. This means medium pacer Barinder Sran will keep his place in the team. Meanwhile, Pune might be tempted to recall fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who lost his place to left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma in their previous game against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Get latest updates on IPL 2024 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.

First uploaded on: 26-04-2016 at 01:20 IST
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