After a stunning win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game, Sunrisers Hyderabad will now host Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on April 5. Captain Pat Cummins is still not available for them as the Australia international has now flown back to his country for scans and is reportedly set to return on April 17. In his absence, Ishan Kishan continues to lead the side.
Lucknow, in the meantime, arrive to the contest on the back of a defeat to Delhi Capitals in their opening game. Interestingly, captain Rishabh Pant promoted himself to the top of the order, but that move wasn’t very fruitful as the keeper-batter made only seven runs off nine balls. His promotion meant Aiden Markram moved down to three, which didn’t help the team as well. Nicholas Pooran has been given a new role of finishing games this season, which also made little sense, given the cricketer had a brilliant campaign last season at three.
Lucknow’s bowling, on the other hand, showed much promise in the last game. Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan looked ruthless, while Mohammed Shami was very effective. Hyderabad, in the meantime, have a much weaker bowling unit on paper, but they proved their mettle against KKR in the last game. After the win, Nitish Kumar Reddy silenced the critics, stating that the bowlers are not the weak link and expect them to keep up with the form.
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, Pitch Report
The surface in Hyderabad will heavily assist the batters. It’s a high-scoring ground and it promises to stay true to its nature. Now, since it’s a day game, the toss won’t be much of a factor but both teams may prefer to bat under the lights. Dew, on the other hand, is not set to bother at all. Anything over 210-220 runs could be considered a good total on the board.
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