Getting their noses in front against a thriving Kings XI Punjab would be on top of Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list on Thursday as they take on the Punjab side which handed them their first defeat of the season last week.
Sunrisers will be taking on the pitch in Hyderabad on Thursday, riding high on confidence after successfully defended a meek total of 118 runs against MI on Tuesday to rediscover firm ground in the competition after two consecutive losses. The result can be attributed to the spectacular show put up by Sunrisers' bowling department, despite the absence of an injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Pacer Siddharth Kaul and leg-spinner Rashid Khan were the chief architects behind the home team's dismissal for 87 at the Wankhede Stadium. They can once again be expected to take centre stage for the Sunrisers' bowler unit against KXIP.
On the batting front, Sunrisers' hopes will rest particularly on skipper Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan. The latter was retired hurt due to an elbow injury in the first leg clash against Kings XI, but will be available for Thursday's return leg after showing up against Mumbai Indians, although not so impressively.
For the visiting side, hard-hitting Chris Gayle is once again expected to come out all guns blazing and replicate his heroics against the same opponents he shook with his 104 of 63 balls in their previous encounter in Mohali. However, the West Indies superstar was absent for the last match against Delhi Daredevils on account of being a bit sore, but the possibility of him opening for Kings XI on Thursday remains strong as ever.
Partnering Gayle for the opening would be an in-form Kl Rahul whose current tally reads 236 runs including a couple of half centuries.
Introducing an early snap in the Gayle-Rahul partnership will be a crucial task for the hosts, for which they may once again have to make do without Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In that case, Sunrisers will have to count on the services of pacers Siddharth and Basil Thampi. The responsibility of weighing down the opponents' middle order is likely to fall upon the spinners' trio of Rashid, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi.
A lackluster performance from the Sunrisers' batting unit in their last fixture against MI is likely to tempt the Kings XI Punjab's bowlers. Pacer Andrew Tye and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in particular would be hoping to take advantage of the seemingly shaky unit.
The middle order is yet to fire and the under-performing Manish Pandey, who was bought for a staggering Rs 11 crore by SRH, is yet to prove his worth on the pitch. That is an area which Punjab would like to exploit the most.