A spirited Punjab Kings side led by Shreyas Iyer will look to build on their impressive start to the Indian Premier League when they host an inconsistent Sunrisers Hyderabad at the New Chandigarh Cricket Stadium on April 11. PBKS are currently unbeaten in three matches while SRH are struggling to find momentum and have lost two of their three matches so far.
Both teams have explosive batting lineups and will look to outscore their opponents. PBKS in particular made a statement with their chasing prowess, first against Gujarat Titans and then against Chennai Super Kings, where they successfully chased 210 at Chepauk.
Meanwhile, SRH have been hampered by under-performing stars who are capable of unraveling any attack at their time. Their campaign started with a loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, followed by a win over Kolkata Knight Riders, before another defeat to Lucknow Super Giants in Hyderabad.
WILL IT BE A BAT-OFF?
Shreyas Iyer’s side boasted one of the strongest batting units last season and reached their first final in over a decade. They retained most of that core and continued to thrive, with several key additions further strengthening the lineup.
Opener and keeper Prabhsimran Singh after a breakthrough season of over 500 runs, emphasized that the team’s focus is on collective success rather than individual accolades such as an orange or purple cap. Cooper Connolly, brought in as a replacement for Josh Inglis, cemented his place at No.3 and became the team’s top scorer with 108 runs from two innings at a strike rate of 163.63. His unbeaten 72 in the opening match against Gujarat Titans helped PBKS to victory.
On the other hand, SRH’s top order with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head has been inconsistent and has produced only one strong performance in three matches. Interim captain Ishan Kishan has also struggled for form, leaving much of the responsibility to Heinrich Klaasen and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. For SRH to challenge PBKS at home, they will need collective improvement, especially from Sharma.
VULNERABILITY
The lower middle order of PBKS is not available yet and SRH will look to take advantage of this by picking early wickets. He will depend a lot on players like Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis in pressure situations. The Indian duo hasn’t had the best of domestic seasons entering this season’s IPL and thus looks out of sorts at the moment.
SRH’s bowling unit is underwhelmed as well, with experienced names like Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat failing to make a big impact. Spinner Harsh Dubey has shown promise in the powerplay and will be expected to maintain his form. However, Unadkat endured a tough outing in the previous game, conceding 50 runs in just 23 balls. He will be eager to bounce back after not saving nine runs in the final against LSG.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Yuzvendra Chahal has dismissed Heinrich Klaasen three times in nine T20 innings, but Klaasen still boasts an average of 45.33 and an impressive strike rate of 212.5 against the leg-spinner.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer struggled against Indian pacers SRH, with Jaydev Unadkat dismissing him twice in three IPL innings and Harshal Patel getting him out thrice in four innings.
MULLANPUR: PITCHING AND CONDITIONS
The New Chandigarh Stadium is one of the few venues in the tournament that offers some help to the bowlers. Dew is likely to play a significant role, the pitching will be decisive, while the pitch is expected to be slightly slow. Despite both teams having strong batsmen, the conditions may require the batsmen to build their innings rather than going all out from the start.
From 2024, the venue is split evenly, with two wins each for teams batting first and chasing. In previous matches, it was relatively harder to score against spin, while the fast bowlers enjoyed a better run-per-wicket ratio.
HEAD TO HEAD
Punjab Kings have struggled with their head-to-head record against Sunrisers Hyderabad, managing just seven wins in 24 meetings in IPL history. SRH have also dominated the recent encounters, winning four of their last five. In their last clash last season they chased down a daunting target of 246 runs in just 18.3 overspowered by Abhishek Sharma’s record-breaking 141 off 55 balls. However, much has changed since then.
PROBABLE XI
PBKS Probable XI: Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
PBKS Impact Player: Priyansh Arya
SRH Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (C & WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel
SRH Impact Players: Eshan Malinga
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Published on:
11 Apr 2026 04:00 IST
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