Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, on Wednesday, May 8. These two teams will treat this game as a rather important one as it can decide their future and showcase where they will end up regarding qualification.
While SRH are ranked fourth in the league table at the time of writing with 12 points, the visitors are just one spot below them in the standings with the same number of points. Both teams should try to get a positive result here.
This game is crucial for both teams as it will decide which of them manages to make the cut and become the fourth side to try to push for future qualification into the playoffs this season. SRH have an upper hand over their opponents, but LSG are not to be taken lightly.
Predicted teams
SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Marco Jansen, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan.
LSG: KL Rahul (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Ashton Turner, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur.
Key Players
Nitish Kumar Reddy (SRH): Medium pacer and middle order batter Nitish Kumar Reddy, who plies his trade for Andhra in domestic cricket, is one of the newfound sensations for SRH this season. He can hit the ball a long way and become one of India's much-needed bowling all-rounders.
KL Rahul (LSG): LSG have entrusted their hopes in India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul. Rahul will open the innings for LSG in this game and come up against Cummins, either inside the powerplay or outside. If he manages to better Cummins by picking up his slower bouncers well and treating them like they are meant to be, LSG will ascend.
Match Prediction
SRH are the downright favourites to win this game, given that they will be playing in home conditions. LSG, who were beaten comprehensively by KKR in their previous game, will want to overturn their poor fortune, but it will not be easy to do so. SRH are expected to win this game.
Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 09.05.2024 Prediction
Punjab Kings will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, on Thursday, May 9. The visiting side will want to make the most of the conditions and try to score as many runs as possible.
PBKS can pick up a win here after CSK's defeat in their previous game at the same venue on Sunday. Yet, it will take a lot of work for RCB to come here and perform immediately. Faf du Plessis will have to encourage his wards.
PBKS will make good use of the altitude here and try to score runs briskly, but RCB will not allow them to use the fielding restrictions that well. The latter, with Hyderabad's Mohammad Siraj in their ranks, are known to bowl well whenever they play games away from home.
Predicted Squads
PBKS: Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh.
RCB: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Key Players
Jonny Bairstow (PBKS): English wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow is one of the players to watch out for in the PBKS camp in this game. With his antics, he has taken the IPL by storm. Bairstow bats at the top of the order and challenges all bowlers to provide him with room and pace.
Glenn Maxwell (RCB): Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell stepped out of the firing line a few weeks ago to give the other youngsters in the RCB squad an opportunity to showcase their wares. He has now returned to the roster and will hope to return to form in this game.
Match Prediction
PBKS have the upper hand over RCB in this game and will be expected to pick up a win. They are known to do well in home conditions, and this should be no different. RCB must make the best use of the conditions here and not let the tall mountains distract them from their task.