Hyderabad, Apr 25:
On a roll after three consecutive wins, a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad will start as overwhelming favourites against struggling Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League match, here tomorrow.
After losing two games in a row, Sunrisers turned their fortunes around by posting comprehensive wins against Mumbai Indians (by 7 wickets), Gujarat Lions (by 10 wickets) and Kings XI Punjab (by 5 wickets).
The Hyderabad outfit is occupying the fourth spot in the eight-team standings with six points from five games.
On the contrary, Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Supergiants are languishing at the seventh spot with just two points from five encounters.
Despite injuries to its key players, including Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and Kane Williamson, the Hyderabad side has been on a high with the team clicking collectively in the last three games.
SRH captain and swashbuckling Australian batsman David Warner has been in great form and is presently the highest run scorer with 294 runs from five games which includes four half centuries.
Warner is just behind Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli who is leading the chart with 367 runs from five games.
But for SRH the big relief would be the return to form opener Shikhar Dhawan after a poor show in the first three matches of the season. Dhawan regained his touch with unbeaten 53 against Gujarat Lions and 45 against Kings XI Punjab.
Other SRH batsmen, including Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan and wicket-keeper Naman Ojha, have also been making useful contributions for the side in crucial situations.
Despite the absence of the seasoned Nehra, SRH bowlers have made an impact to make it difficult for their rivals.
In Nehra’s absence, seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been leading SRH’s bowling department and is currently the second- highest wicket taker with eight scalps from five games.
But it is young Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman who has been the most impressive. He has been using his variations to perfection to earn the accolades from his skipper.
Mustafizur, in fact, is fourth on the wicket takers list with seven scalps but it is his misery economy rate of 5.75 per over that what has impressed all and sundry.
Besides, the likes of Barinder Sran, Deepak Hooda and Bipul Sharma have also been impressive with the ball although they leaked runs on some occasions.
New outfit Supergiants, on the other hand, have been struggling to find the right team combination, a fact which head coach Stephen Fleming duly accepted. (PTI)
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