Kane Williamson brings in good luck to Sunrisers Hyderabad

One look at the Punjab Kings’ team sheet and you will understand that the team lacks balance. With a very big tail, the team’s top order seems to be playing under pressure. But T20 is a ruthless game because of you allow the bowlers to dominate you then it becomes very difficult to change the momentum! After losing two matches on the trot, Punjab Kings’ decided to make some changes to elongate their batting lineup by adding two all-rounders replacing two bowlers. Meredith and Jhye Richardson were dropped and they were replaced by Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen. But unfortunately, this unimaginative change didn’t bring in the change of fortunes because the team folded up after scoring just 120 runs to hand over an easy victory to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad is too good a team to be lagging at the bottom of the table! When the tournament started I felt that Sunrisers would be able to reach to playoffs but the start has not been ideal for them. But as we have seen in past editions it’s not always important how you start – what’s important is how you finish. Getting Kane Williamson into the playing XI was one of the best decisions that Sunrisers took yesterday. Warner, Bairstow, and Kane make a fearful top order and I am sure these 3 are going to be a pain for all the team going forward in the tournament.

Having a doubleheader during weekdays is not ideal for people like me so I was not able to watch the match though followed the score updates online! Here are the hits and misses from yesterday’s encounter at the Chepauk, Chennai.

The hits:

When Natarajan was rested in the last match, I was a bit surprised but when I saw Khaleel Ahmed bowl I understood why he was playing. He has added a few yards of pace in his bowling and was consistently hitting the 141 Km/hr Mark which was not the case two years back when he made it to the Indian team. Yesterday he bowled well once again and picked up 3 important wickets too. With Bhuvi complaining of a slight strain in his leg, I am hoping to see Khaleel throughout the tournament this year. 

Though Shahrukh Khan scored only 22 runs yesterday, he looks to be a very good find for Punjab Kings. In all the matches he has shown that he is capable enough to be given a spot higher than number 6 in the batting order. Punjab Kings need to play him consistently at number 5 so that he can play to his potential. His form should act as a confidence booster for the top order who should play with a little bit more freedom. 

For Sunrisers to do well in this tournament they have to ensure that their top-order clicks consistently. They have an inexperienced middle order which they changed a little bit by playing Kedar Jhadav yesterday. This will ensure that their Top 3 comprising of Warner, Bairstow, and Kane Williamson play with freedom. Yesterday it was a small chase so the middle order was not tested but it would be interesting to see how this pans out when they chase a bigger total. But with Bairstow in great form, I think Sunrisers will do well because Warner and Williamson will contribute heavily with the bat surely as the tournament progresses.

The misses:

The Punjab Kings’ is having a meltdown at the top. I expected their top 4 to be a big danger for the other teams but they have flattered to deceive thus far. Rahul is not playing aggressively. Mayank Agarwal is the only one at the top who is playing with intent and once he is losing his wicket they have been struggling. Pooran is hardly staying in the crease. In three matches Pooran has played 6 deliveries and got out for a duck on all three occasions. This is a big concern for the team and till this is sorted it would be extremely difficult for Punjab Kings to reach the top 4.

Playing Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen was a very defensive strategy and it failed spectacularly. They tried to elongate their batting order and in the process pushed Shahrukh to number 7 which just didn’t make sense! They need to sort out their team lineup because such a defensive mindset won’t help them win matches.

What to look forward to?

The way Rahul is batting right now it would make more sense for him to come at number 4. This would open up the opener’s slot for Chris Gayle which would be good for him. They can get Mandeep Singh to replace Moises Henriques and find a way to get Ravi Bishnoi to play in the next match. Here is my ideal playing XI for them in the next match:

Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, KL Rahul, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Fabian Allen, Jhye Richardson, MD. Shami, Ravi Bishnoi.

For Sunrisers they finally got their combination right though the niggle to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar would bother them. Their batting order looks far more solid with the addition of Kane Williamson and I am looking forward to seeing them making some big scores going forward.

What do you think about my suggested changes to Punjab Kings?

Do write in as we wait for another RCB match later in the evening who takes on Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai later today!

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