IPL 2021: Battle of the laggards as Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Punjab Kings

When Sunrisers Hyderabad look back at what has been a dismal season, the sole bright spot will be their nine-wicket win over Punjab Kings way back in April. In between, there was nothing to suggest that the first leg of this season’s IPL was an aberration because Sunrisers came a cropper in their first match following the resumption in the UAE.
It’s been that sort of a season where poor form, injuries to key players and Covid-19 cases have resulted in the team sporting an unsettled look.Frequent change of personnel — Sunrisers made 15 changes in seven games — clearly showed in the results with Hyderabad bringing up the rear with just two points.
Kane Williamson was unavailable for the first few games due to elbow injury and Jonny Bairstow and skipper David Warner struggled.
Just before the league was suspended, Warner was controversially replaced by Williamson as captain. Middle-order batsman Manish Pandey proved ineffective, was dropped and then brought back.

The bowling department suffered due to injury and the subsequent knee surgery of T Natarajan. While Bairstow pulled out of the UAE leg due to personal reasons, Sherfane Rutherford, his replacement, lost his father and was forced to head back home.
While Warner was sorted out by Anrich Nortje in the first over, Natarajan tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of their match against Delhi Capitals. That the bulk of their runs (134/9) came from Nos. 6 and 8 means that the SRH top order needs to get its act together.
It will be some consolation that they will be up against Punjab Kings in Sharjah in a battle of the wooden spoonners, with nothing to lose for both teams on Saturday. Punjab are just one rung above with six points. Just like Sunrisers, they have problems of their own, especially the problem of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory! Their previous match against Rajasthan Royals is a case in point.
Meanwhile, medium pacer Umran Malik will join SRH as a short-term replacement for T Natarajan. Malik has played one T20 and List A match for Jammu and Kashmir