IPL Super Sunday Preview: Williamson’s Orange Army face Mayank’s Kings, Jadeja’s Super Kings take on Hardik’s Titans

A resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to extend their three-match winning steak but have their task cut out against Punjab Kings, when the two sides square off in an IPL game here on Sunday.
Among a bunch of teams on six points each, both SRH and PBKS will go all out to snap the two crucial points to nose ahead in the race for play-offs.
Sunrisers began their campaign with two defeats but bounced back with three successive wins — against Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders — and look good for more, going the trend of their improving performance.
Punjab Kings had a morale-boosting 12-run win over Mumbai Indians in their last outing and the Sunrisers would certainly know that the Mayank Agarwal-led side, who are in the third spot, would be a tough team to beat.

Hat-trick of wins, hat-trick of cake smashes 😅🎂#SRHvKKR #OrangeArmy #ReadyToRise #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/2HRBgg7nV4
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 16, 2022
All the three wins for the Sunrisers came while chasing and they have found a new hero each time.
Openers Abhishek Sharma and skipper Kane Williamson, after playing match-winning knocks against CSK and Gujarat Titans respectively, had a failure against KKR.
But with a wide range of shots at his disposal, left-handed Sharma would be aiming to give an aggressive start.
After getting the starts, Rahul Tripathi’s moment of glory came against KKR when he struck a 37-ball 71 and ditto for Aiden Markaram, whose 36-ball unbeaten 68 helped the team go over the line.
With the swashbuckling Nicholos Pooran, who can be brutal when in full flow, in their ranks, the Sunrisers can set or chase down a big total. Rahul, Pooran and Markaram will have to once again shoulder responsibility in the middle-order.
But they are up against a strong and varied Punjab attack led South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, who has been right on the money.
Rabad would, however, need support from Vaibhav Arora, who bled 43 runs against Mumbai Indians, and the fast improving Arshdeep Singh.
The weakest link in the Punjab attack is probably spinner Rahul Chahar, who was taken to task in the last game, where he leaked 44 runs.

These 🦁s #BTS will blow your mind like #Dynamite 💥💜#SaddaPunjab #IPL2022 #PunjabKings #ਸਾਡਾਪੰਜਾਬ #BTSDynamite #BehindTheScenes @BTS_twt @bts_bighit @BTSW_official @SDhawan25 @mayankcricket @KagisoRabada25 @BTS_ARMY pic.twitter.com/lr7V8whsKk
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 16, 2022
Chahar will have to step up and deliver as the SRH batters will be looking to target him.
The Sunrisers pacers showed why they were among the best in the business in their previous match. Marco Jansen, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik shared seven wickets among them against KKR and did the bulk of damage.
With his angles and variations, Jansen is proving to be the opposition batters’ nightmare while yorker special Natarajan and pace sensation Malik along with senior player Bhuvneshwar Kumar have contributed with crucial wickets.
In the absence of Washington Sundar, left-armer Jagadeesha Suchith did pretty well against KKR and he may retain his place.
For Punjab, the biggest development is that the flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan is back among the runs.
Dhawan, who smashed 70 against MI, and Mayank Agarwal will have to once again give the side a solid start.
The middle-order has hard-hitters in Johnny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith, and one of the batters will need to take responsibility if the top-order falters.
Being an afternoon game, dew would not be a factor but an intriguing battle is in store.
The Teams (From):
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholos Pooran, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Washington Sundar, Romario Shepherd, Marco Jansen, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sean Abbott, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Tiwary, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik, T Natarajan. Match starts at 3.30 PM.
Test of wits between new captains Jadeja and Pandya
It will be a test of wits between two new captains in Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya when defending champions Chennai Super Kings clash with debutants Gujarat Titans in an IPL game here on Sunday.
Known for their all-round skills, both Jadeja and Pandya have served Indian cricket well and the duo will be engaged in a battle of tactical supremacy on Sunday with both teams looking to continue their momentum after wins in their previous matches.
While Jadeja was elevated to the captaincy role CSK, Pandya was roped in as the leader of the Titans after Mumbai Indians didn’t retain the gifted all-rounder as he struggled with his fitness.

First day, first show at Pune!
More 📸 ➡️ https://t.co/QgQPsf9PBk#WhlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/72m52OdwUs
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 16, 2022
Pandya has given the newcomers a rollicking start with four wins in five games. The Titans are headed into the match after bouncing back from their only loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad with a 37-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.
Jadeja, on the other hand, has endured a tough initial phase with the team losing their first four matches before opening account with a 23-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Bowling has been a major concern for CSK but the former champions produced a better show against RCB with the spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana and skipper Jadeja running riot with seven wickets between them in their last match.
But pacer Mukesh Choudhary has not been able to rise to the occasion in the absence of CSK’s main weapon Deepak Chahar, who has been ruled out of the IPL due to a back injury.
Chris Jordon and Dwayne Bravo have done well overall to keep things in check even though the latter was taken for runs in the last match.

🆕 episode of our #InTheLockerRoom series.
👀 Captain Pandya address the team for the first time this #SeasonOfFirsts! #AavaDe #RRvGT pic.twitter.com/wVxiL8890l
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) April 16, 2022
The Titans, however, boast of a formidable bowling line-up with New Zealand speedster Lockie Ferguson (8 wickets), India quick Mohammed Shami (7) and Pandya (4) himself all capable of taking wickets and putting the opposition under the pump.
With six wickets so far, Afghanan spinner Rashid Khan too has done the job of squeezing the run flow.
In the batting department, Pandya and opener Shubman Gill, with two fifties each, have been among the runs but Matthew Wade’s form has been a concern.
Rookie Abhinav Manohar and South Africa’s David Miller came good in their last match and the team will expect them to take more responsibility.

Rahul Tewatia too shone in his role of a finisher as his sixes earned the Titans a win over Lucknow Super Giants.
For CSK, time is running out for young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been in horrible form this season. Moeen Ali too has lacked consency at the top of the order. Ditto for Ambati Rayudu, who has failed to capitalise on his starts.
All-rounder Shivam Dube has been their star performer as he blasted an unbeaten 95 at number four the other night. Opener Robin Uthappa also turned back the clock during his 88-run hammering of RCB bowlers.
However, Jadeja and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to show more intent when the going gets tough in the middle.
The Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: Ravindra Jadeja (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Subranshu Senapati, K Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (captain), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal. Match starts at 7.30 PM.