IPL 2022 PBKS vs SRH Preview - Brute force meets precision

Key match stats PBKS vs SRH

Pitch Stats – DY Patil Stadium

Average first innings score: 156
Average first innings winning score: 175
Average powerplay score: 43
All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 42% / 58%

Team form PBKS vs SRH

PBKS – WLWLW
SRH – LLWWW
Recent meetings: PBKS won by 5 runs, SRH won by 9 wickets

PBKS vs SRH Preview

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What a turnaround by this Sunrisers side following a very poor start to the IPL season that had most people assuming that their pre-season predictions of another tough season would be realised.

There is nothing flashy about this SRH team but they all know their role and at least for now they are all delivering at least to if not beyond expectations.

Having won their previous couple of games off the back of a strong opening stand, the men in orange will be pleased that despite losing both Kane Williamson and Abishek Sharma early on they were able to chase down KKR's total with relative ease.

Rahul Tripathi played an absolute blinder and as I'd alluded to in my preview for that match, his ability to take on the spinners was crucial. While he was batting, the TV commentary showed an interesting stat that showed Tripathi has more runs in IPL history than any other uncapped player.

In many ways that's not surprising because while Tripathi has been around for a long time, he's never really secured a home or role at any of his previous franchises and the contributions he usually makes might be a nice 20 or 30 odd but he rarely wins games in the manner we saw against Kolkata. Sunrisers have put their faith in him and given him an ideal role and now Tripathi will hope to deliver more innings of that nature.

Aiden Markram also had a major impact and given SRH's problem in the middle order over the last few seasons he and Nicolas Pooran are starting to look like the kind of combination that can bring the Sunrisers back to the levels they have been in previous campaigns.

The other major bonus for SRH this season has been the consistency of selection and thought process. Last year with the toing and froing between captains and the introduction of a new coaching regime with Trevor Baylis coming in and Tom Moody being moved to a different role it was difficult to tell who was calling the shots. Now they are back to Moody as coach and Williamson as undisputed captain and the benefits are clear - everyone knows their place and what they are expected to do!

As for PBKS, the thought process is also pretty clear - attack!

There's no messing around with this Punjab batting line-up and it will be a major test for Sunrisers to see how they respond to the pressure that'll be put on them from ball one.

So far that tactic is proving hit and miss, literally and figuratively speaking, with Punjab's form of won one lost, won lost one, etc. I'd imagine that will continue throughout the season but whether it will be enough to finally get this franchise into the playoffs after so long waiting remains to be seen.

Sunrisers are at something of an advantage based on the fact that this is their 4th game of the season here at the DY Patil Stadium and to date it's a venue that seems to favour their attack.

No side has won 4 games in a row yet in IPL 2022. Will this unfancied SRH team be the first to achieve it?

SRH vs PBKS head to head

PBKS bowling vs SRH batting

As noted above SRH have been playing plenty of their cricket here in Navi Mumbai and so most of their top order have very good records on this pitch

BatsmanAverageStrike Rate
Abishek Sharma43.3139.8
Williamson35.0102.9
Tripathi50.0178.6
Pooran73.0165.9

SRH batting stats at the DY Patil Stadium during IPL 2022

The SRH middle order have already established themselves as good players against slow bowling so it'll be interesting to see how Mayank Agarwal uses his resources particularly at a venue where the ball hasn't come onto the bat quite as much.

A lot of teams have used spin in the powerplay here at the DY Patil Stadium but in their current team, PBKS don't really have a bowler who is likely to fit that role. Rahul Chahar for example has bowled just 11 overs in the powerplay during his IPL career and none of them have been for new franchise PBKS. Will PBKS consider a change to their starting XI as result? Let's wait and see...

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Rabada vs Pooran T20 head to head

Meanwhile, they'll want to save some pace for the back end of the innings against the likes of Nicolas Pooran who has historically struggled against back of length bowling from players like Rabada.

SRH bowling vs PBKS batting

Again, the question for SRH will be whether they stick with their tried and trusted method of spin in the powerplay at this ground. Washington Sundar is not likely to play so that may alter their tactics while both PBKS batsmen but particularly Mayank Agarwal will certainly go after any slow bowling while the field restrictions are up.

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Agarwal career powerplay stats vs slow bowling

PBKS' tactic of going hard from ball one has certainly made them an entertaining team to watch but it has also left them with the lowest run rate at the death of any team in IPL 2022 due to them losing too many wickets resulting in a limp rather than a sprint to the finish.

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death over run rate IPL 2022

In this match, they'll need batting resources at the death against the likes of Natarajan and Bhuvi who have both been brilliant at closing out innings for SRH this season predominately by taking regular wickets and breaking up the flow of sides looking to go big in the slog overs.

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Bhuvi and Natarajan combined death over bowling stats IPL 2022

All stats used in this blog are from my own database. Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images which are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free



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