Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to make home advantage count when they face inconsistent Delhi Capitals in a mid-table Indian Premier League clash here on Tuesday. Both teams are level on six points, with fourth-placed SRH slightly ahead due to a better net run rate and having played an extra game.
SRH have shown steady improvement in the absence of skipper Pat Cummins, who has joined the squad but remains unavailable for this match. Their bowling unit, initially seen as inexperienced, has begun to find rhythm over the last two games.
Relatively unheralded players such as Praful Hinge, Sakib Husain and Shivang Kumar have stepped up, bringing control and energy to the attack. Hinge impressed against Rajasthan Royals, while Eshan Malinga led a disciplined bowling effort against Chennai Super Kings as SRH delivered strong death bowling to secure back-to-back home wins.
Their batting, however, remains inconsistent. The aggressive approach has not yielded regular results, with openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, along with stand-in captain Ishan Kishan, yet to fire together. This has left the middle order exposed, with Heinrich Klaasen often forced to stabilise the innings after early wickets before accelerating later.
Delhi Capitals have also struggled for consistency. While experienced players KL Rahul, Pathum Nissanka and Tristan Stubbs have contributed runs, the team needs more substantial performances, particularly on batting-friendly pitches. Sameer Rizvi, who impressed in the first two matches, has since gone through a lean phase with three consecutive single-digit scores.
Their bowling attack has shown variety, led by South African pacer Lungi Ngidi, who has taken seven wickets in five games while maintaining control. Captain Axar Patel has been economical through the middle overs, though Kuldeep Yadav is yet to meet expectations. Pacers Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan have shown occasional promise.
(With inputs from PTI)
The Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Abhishek Sharma, Amit Kumar, Salil Arora, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey, Krains Fuletra, Travis Head, Praful Hinge, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Eshan Malinga, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, David Payne, Sakib Hussain, Shivam Mavi, Shivang Kumar, Ravichandran Smaran, Onkar Tarmale, Jaydev Unadkat, Aniket Verma, Zeeshan Ansari.
Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), K.L. Rahul, Karun Nair, David Miller, Pathum Nissanka, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Auqib Dar, Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Lungisani Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav.
Match starts at 7.30pm.