Jolted by a crushing defeat in their campaign opener, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be bolstered by the return of their South African recruits, including new skipper Aiden Markram when they play Lucknow Super Giants in an away IPL match in Lucknow on Friday. In the absence of Markram, Bhuvneshwar Kumar led SRH in their opening game, which they lost by a huge 72 runs against Rajasthan Royals. But in a big boost to the team, Markram and two fellow South Africans — marco jansen and Heinrich Klaasen –have joined the side after completing their national duty.
SRH finished last in 2021 and eighth among 10 teams last year and they will bank on Markram’s leadership skills to deliver results this season. However, if the opening game is anything to go by, SRH cut a sorry figure as they struggled against RR, who dominated both the powerplays — racking up 85 for 1 first and then conceding just 30 for 2 in the first six overs while defending 203 for 5. Coached by the legendary Brain Lara, SRH will look to put up a much better show, especially in the powerplay on Friday. The arrival of the South African players came as a big relief for SRH as Markram, apart from his tactical acumen, can provide solidity to the batting line-up and Jansen can add teeth to their pace department.
save T Natarajan (2/23), none of the seamers could put up a fight against RR. While Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi Claiming two wickets, he ended up conceding 41 runs in four overs, while Bhuvneshwar, despite all his experience, was not good enough.
Umran Malik claimed a wicket but he was too expensive, bleeding 32 in 3 overs.
In the spin department, Washington Sundar and Adil Rashid Had an ordinary day and they will have to buck up if SRH want to put the opposition batsmen under pressure.
In the batting department, Mayank Aggarwal looked good but other Indians — Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi — failed to open their accounts, making the top-order an area of concern.
While wicketkeeper-batsman Glen Phillips and Harry Brooks are exciting players, they will have to get into the groove quickly.
For LSG, skipper KL Rahul‘s form is cause of concern as he failed to capitalize on his starts but Kyle Myers produced some extraordinary hitting during his two blistering fifties in the last two matches.
Even though the batters failed to take LSG home against Chennai Super Kings, overall they have chipped in when required.
Among bowlers, Ravi Bishnoi has been impressive with five wickets so far, while the England pacer Mark Wood blew away Delhi Capitals with a five-wicket haul in their opening match and also accounted for three scalps in their last game.
However, LSG bowlers have erred in their lengths at times and they would be looking to keep a check on the runs as it is a game of small margins.
Teams
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, abdul samadAbhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Harry Brook, Mayank DagarFazalhaq Farooqi, Akeal Hosein, Karthik TyagiHeinrich Klaasen, Mayank MarkandeT Natarajan Nitish Kumar Reddy, Glenn Phillips, Adil Rashid, sanveer singhRahul Tripathi, Umran Malik, Vivrant Sharma, Samarth VyasWashington Sundar Upendra Yadav,
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c and wk), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal PandyaAmit Mishra Nicholas Pooran (wk), Naveen ul Haq, Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Karan Sharma, Yudhvir Charak, Yash Thakur, Romario ShepherdMark Wood Swapnil Singh, Manan Vohra, daniel sams, Prerak Mankad, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, marcus stoinisRavi Bishnoi Mayank Yadav,
Match starts at 7:30 PM IST.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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