IPL 2016, RPS vs SRH Playing 11: Probable XI for Rising Pune Supergiants and Sunrisers Hyderabad (Confirmed XI)

RPS will be looking to recover from their loss at the hands of RCB

Confirmed Playing XI

 

RISING PUNE SUPERGIANTS XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Usman Khawaja, Saurabh Tiwary, MS Dhoni(w/c), Thisara Perera, George Bailey, Rajat Bhatia, Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Ashok Dinda, RP Singh.

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD XI: David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Ashish Nehra, Mustafizur Rahman.

 

 

The 40th match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will see a contest between Rising Pune Supergiants and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ADA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakapatnam. The Supergiants have been among the most inconsistent teams in the season as they have won only 3 out of the 10 matches played by them. The Sunrisers, on the other hand, have played some brilliant cricket in the 2016 IPL and are currently in 2nd place on the points table for the tournament. Pune have faced a lot of trouble due to injuries to some of their big buys at the auction such as Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith and Faf du Plessis. They will need to win just to keep themselves alive in the tournament. Sunrisers, though, will be looking to move closer to a spot in the playoffs.

Here's how Rising Pune Supergiants may line up for the match:

Batting

Ajinkya Rahane has been the best batsman for the Supergiants in their debut season. The Indian right-hander has scored 417 runs this year at an average of just over 52. Rahane has been carrying the weight of RPS' batting on his shoulders since injuries to Smith, Pietersen and du Plessis put them out of the tournament.

Skipper MS Dhoni has been in decent form in the tournament with 183 runs, which he has scored at a strike rate of slightly below 134. Southpaw Saurabh Tiwary has been doing well ever since he was promoted in the batting order with 2 half-centuries in 3 innings. Usman Khawaja, who has joined the team as a replacement, has looked promising in the 2 matches he has played.

However, there have not been too many noteworthy performances from the other batsmen in the team.

All-rounders

Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera has been Pune's top all-rounder this season with 97 runs at a strike rate of over 176 and 8 wickets. Rajat Bhatia has bowled well but has not contributed much with the bat. Among other all-rounders, Albie Morkel has played just 2 matches in this edition of the IPL whereas Mitchell Marsh had to leave midway due to injury. Even Irfan Pathan played just one game and has warmed the benches ever since.

Bowling

While Perera is RPS' leading wicket-taker, pacer Ashok Dinda has been their most impressive bowler with 7 wickets in 5 matches. Bhatia has claimed 6 wickets and conceded his runs at a miserly economy rate of 7.03 per over. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin performed exceptionally early on with 7 wickets in his first 5 games but has not been able to add to his tally since then.

Australia's Adam Zampa did reasonably well on his IPL debut, grabbing 2 wickets for 35 in his 4 overs. The biggest concern for the Supergiants has been Ravichandran Ashwin's loss of form as the off-spinner has taken just 3 wickets in 10 matches. In order to keep their hopes of making the playoffs alive, the bowlers will need to step up for the Rising Pune Supergiants.

Probable Playing XI

Ajinkya Rahane, Usman Khawaja, Saurabh Tiwary, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), George Bailey, Thisara Perera, Rajat Bhatia, Adam Zampa, Murugan Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Ishwar Pandey.