Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad eye winning momentum

Sunrisers got past Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets on April 15 at the Brabourne Stadium

Two teams armed with winning momentum, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, cross swords in an afternoon game at the DY Patil Stadium here on Sunday. Punjab Kings (PBKS) stunned five-time champions Mumbai Indians by 12 runs in a high-scoring match at the MCA Stadium in Pune on April 13. Sunrisers got past Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets on April 15 at the Brabourne Stadium.

PBKS, who played here once on March 27 and won against Royal Challengers Bangalore, will thus be more refreshed than their rivals who have played three ties at this venue. With the match starting at 3:30 pm, the dew factor would be minimal, if at all. It will be interesting to see whether the team that wins the toss opts to chase or set a target.

Thus far teams have preferred to chase, but significantly the last two matches held here have been won by teams batting first and piling up tall totals, Chennai Super Kings posted the season-high 216 for four and won against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 12.  Later, Gujarat Titans made 192 for four and defeated Rajasthan Royals on April 14. Seasoned campaigner Shikhar Dhawan is the leading run-getter for Punjab Kings with 197 runs.

Captain Mayank Agarwal ran into form with a well-made 52 off 32 balls and also featured in a stand of 97 with fellow-opener Dhawan who cracked a 50-ball 70 to help post what proved to be a match-winning score of 198 for 5 against MI.

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