The biggest issue for Sunrisers Hyderabad is their middle order, the players have not turned up yet, there is a dearth of power hitters and when the openers in David Warner and Jonny Bairstow do not fire, they find themselves in a bit of a hole.

“First three matches we got good opening partnerships but we never got a chance to test our middle order,” Bhuvneshwar said after his side tasted defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians.

“Today when we did and we did not apply ourselves. We will see what went wrong before going into the next match. It was not a normal flat wicket that we get in Hyderabad but it was not a tough chase,” he added.

ALSO READ: Kings XI Predicted XI for the match against SRH

Manish Pandey, who is one of the big-ticket signings of the franchise, has not been performing since 2018. He has the trust of the management, but after a mediocre start to this season, he is walking a very tight rope, which could end anytime soon.

The fitness of Kane Williamson is another matter of concern, and if fit he could replace Mohammad Nabi in the side on a Mohali surface which might not assist Nabi’s off-spin.

“When Kane will be fit, he will come back because he is our captain. Of course, there’ll be a difficulty because everyone is performing well but it’s not a concern for us right now,” Bhuvneshwar Kumar said before the match.

ALSO READ: Numbers reveal how SRH can stop Chris Gayle

However, Tom Moody does not believe in too many changes and despite the drubbing received at the hands of Mumbai Indians, he could well stick with the same combination.

Here is how Sunrisers Hyderabad could line up for the match against Kings XI Punjab:

Predicted XI: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow(w), Vijay Shankar, Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar(c), Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul

First Published: Apr 08, 2019 11:38 IST