Already qualified for the Indian Premier League 2024 playoffs, Sunrisers Hyderabad will look for a top-two finish when they take on Punjab Kings in their final league stage match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Sunrisers’ ultra aggressive approach saw them qualify for the playoffs with 15 points from 13 games, giving them a privilege which can give them two shots at making the final.

The Pat Cummins-led outfit has been sensational this season and made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and this alone speaks highly of the impact that the Australian made in his first year in charge.

From the home team’s perspective, Cummins & Co played their last game on May 8 during their 10-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants with openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head achieving the target of 166 in just 9.4 overs.

After the long break, it will be interesting to see how quickly it seizes the momentum ahead of the playoffs. On Sunday, Sunrisers will once again bank on their star opening pair of Head and Sharma to give them a sound opening. Head has been SRH’s best batter with 471 runs from 10 matches, and has been responsible for the brisk starts.

The team would want Heinrich Klaasen to get back amongst the runs after a string of moderate scores. The lower-order comprising, Nithish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed, which has chipped in with handy contributions, will be expected to continue the momentum.

On the other hand, Punjab Kings had yet another disappointing season managing just 10 points from 13 games so far, but have a lot of positives with respect to the talent unearthed.

However, on Sunday, they will be without their inspiring skipper Sam Curran and instead will be led by Jitesh Sharma. Curran gave the Kings a great parting gift by leading the team to a win against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati as the Englishman has flown back to prepare for the T20 World Cup.

In batting, Kings will expect the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Ashutosh Sharma to score big for the bowlers to have a go.
Kings’ pacers left-armer Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel, who is the lead wicket-taker with 22 wickets in the IPL this season, hold the key in keeping a check on the run flow along with leg spinner Rahul Chahar.

With nothing to lose, the Kings won’t mind playing the party spoilers and end their campaign on a high.