Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will host Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 27 of the ongoing IPL 2025 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday, April 12. Notably, both franchises have had a big contrast in fortunes so far in the season.
Both teams have the required firepower in their respective batting departments, which could dictate the terms at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday evening. But as the previous game at the venue showed, there is much beyond the playing surface that can shape outcomes.
For SRH, it’s no more just a battle of bagging two points, but also to make up for the massive defeats in suffered in the last three games and left reeling with a depleted Net Run Rate. For Shreyas Iyer & Co. the task is much simpler: keep riding on the momentum.
SRH vs PBKS : Previous Performances
SRH, who were one of the favourites to be on top of the table, haven’t had a season to remember so far. After smashing 286 in their season opener, they’ve lost four straight games. Their over-aggressive batting strategy has misfired, with scores of 163, 120, and 152 in the last three outings.
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have struggled to give a solid start, while Ishan Kishan has also not been in his best form. The bowling hasn’t helped either, with the side having the worst economy (10.73) and highest bowling average (41.47) in the league. Furthermore, skipper Pat Cummins has been expensive with the ball, and the lack of a quality spinner continues to trouble them.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team that promised to entertain and break the 300-run barrier this season, has imploded more often than not in IPL 2025 with their boom-or-bust approach. Five games in, they now find themselves sitting uncomfortably at the bottom of the table.
With the batters not firing, it has also exposed their bowling attack, which has been among the worst since last season; their failings have often found a cover with the explosiveness of the batters and the big totals to defend. With two departments needing an uplift and a line-up that’s still trying to figure out its best combination, SRH come confronting an in-form Punjab Kings, who are battling for a place at the other end of the table.
PBKS will come into this game with a solid 18-run win over CSK and are sitting in fourth position with three wins in four matches. Their batting unit is flourishing, with different match-winners stepping up every game. Even without major contributions from big names like Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, Punjab have been a bright player.
SRH vs PBKS : Head to Head
SRH have a healthy 16-7 lead over PBKS while they have also won 4 out of 5 matches since 2022. At home in Hyderabad, SRH have lost only one out of nine matches against PBKS.
| Matches Played | 23 |
| Won by Sunrisers Hyderabad | 16 |
| Won by Punjab Kings | 7 |
| Tied | 00 |
| No Result | 00 |
| First-ever Fixture | April 19, 2013 |
| Most-recent Fixture | May 19, 2024 |
SRH vs PBKS : Pitch and Weather Report
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad has largely been a batting paradise this season. Although SRH’s scores have dipped in their last three games. The average first-innings score in the last 10 matches is 213, making it one of the highest-scoring venues in the IPL. Teams batting first have won 60% of those games. While the most recent match was a low-scoring encounter, it’s likely to be an exception. The weather is expected to stay dry.
Hyderabad has hosted three games so far, where SRH batted first on all three occasions, and their totals dipped from 286 to 190 to 152. It has been raining in the lead-up to the match, along with some thunderstorms and gusts of winds. The good news is that there is no rain forecast for Saturday evening. The temperature is expected to dip below 30 degrees Celsius after hitting 36 or so in the afternoon.
While the last game wasn’t the kind of run-fest we are used to in Hyderabad, expect that to be a blip in an otherwise batting paradise, unless SRH implode again in their bid to go big.
SRH vs PBKS : Big Picture : Will the real SRH stand up in IPL 2025
One team is hammering away runs quicker than everyone bar Lucknow Super Giants, while the other has lost more wickets than anyone in the powerplay. One team is seeing a new batting hero in every game, while the other is looking around for someone to stand up with the bat. One has the second-best batting average for a team this season, while the other has the second-worst batting average for a team’s top three.
It’s almost like Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have swapped places this IPL, and now they run into each other with contrasting fortunes and form. The PBKS batting is lighting up fireworks like never before with three different batters – including Priyansh Arya, the latest IPL sensation – taking home the Player-of-the-Match awards in their three wins, and all this without Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell doing anything of note.
SRH, meanwhile, have as many worries as PBKS have things to brag about. Runs have almost vanished for all of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan after their first game. Even though more and more questions are being asked about their uber-aggressive batting approach, their bowlers have the worst economy rate (10.73) and the highest bowling average (41.47) in the tournament.
They have the second-fewest wickets in the middle overs (7-16), and in the absence of a big-ticket spinner in their XI – having left out Adam Zampa – there is too much responsibility on the shoulders of inexperienced Zeeshan Ansari. Be it with their batting or bowling, SRH quickly need to turn things around before the playoffs qualification gets out of their hands.
SRH vs PBKS : In the Spotlight : Pat Cummins and Yuzvendra Chahal
The Pat Cummins we have seen so far is not the same Pat Cummins we saw with the ball last year. He has been leaking runs at 11.16 an over, which is a far cry from his economy rate of 7.30 after the first five matches last season. For context, his team-mates Mohammed Shami and Harshal have gone at less than 9.50 per over so far this IPL.
As compared to bowling nearly half his overs in the middle overs the last season that fetched him nine wickets while going at under eight an over, Cummins has brought himself on in the powerplay more often this time but hasn’t struck more than twice and leaked 9.28 runs an over. The death overs have been the worst for him this IPL, with no wickets and an economy rate touching 19. Can he, like his batters, turn things around in this home fixture
Yuzvendra Chahal appears like a shade of himself this season, having gone wicketless in three out of four outings so far. He has also not always been given his full quota, though. Against CSK, he came on only in the 17th over for his lone over and didn’t get his fourth over against Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans. If SRH’s top order fires on Saturday, he will have the big task of bowling to three left-hand batters in Abhishek, Head and Kishan, and possibly Mendis later.
SRH vs PBKS : Vital Stats that matters
- The average for Head and Abhishek’s opening stand has fallen sharply from 49.90 last season to 16.80 this IPL.
- Kishan has a delicious match-up against two PBKS bowlers. Against Arshdeep Singh, he has struck 31 runs in 15 balls while being dismissed three times. And against Chahal, he strikes at nearly 172 but has also fallen three times to him in 32 balls.
- Shreyas Iyer has a strike rate of exactly 200 this IPL.
- Maxwell’s highest IPL score (95) was against SRH back in 2014, when he was with the same team, PBKS.
- SRH have lost 12 wickets in Powerplay in IPL 2025, the most for any team in this phase. On an average, they’ve lost one wicket every 15 balls
- The Punjab team’s only win in Hyderabad in the IPL came way back in 2014 – the last time they qualified for Play Offs
- The SRH pace attack has the worst average (42.86) and second worst economy rate (10.74) among the seam attacks in IPL 2025
SRH vs PBKS : Team News for SRH and PBKS
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Injuries/Unavailability: The home team do not have any injury concerns at the moment. Harshal Patel had missed the last match for SRH because of an illness, and was replaced by Jaydev Unadkat, who got just two overs. If Harshal is fit again, he should slot right back in for his death bowling and cutters he bangs into the pitch. The bigger question is if they will go back to Zampa and leave out Kamindu Mendis for a better wicket-taking option.
Tactics & Matchups:Â Wrist spinners from SRH have conceded at 10.21 per over – the worst among all teams. Adam Zampa played in the first two games and was replaced by Zeeshan Ansari in the last three. Rahul Chahar is the spinner in the reserves with a good head to head record against the PBKS middle order batters, having dismissed Glenn Maxwell twice, Marcus Stoinis twice and Shreyas Iyer three times.
SRH Probable Playing XI : Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk.), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins (capt), Zeeshan Ansari, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami
Impact Player : Rahul Chahar
Punjab Kings:
Injuries/Unavailability: Punjab Kings also don’t have any reported injuries in their setup. PBKS went unchanged into their last game, against CSK, and brought in right-arm quick Yash Thakur for the centurion Arya when it was time to bowl. They might do the same once again.
Tactics & Matchups:Â With most of the spin options in SRH’s bowling camp likely to favour left-handers, Nehal Wadhera could be persisted with ahead of Suryansh Shedge, which could also add some variety to an otherwise right-handed dominated middle order. Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell could get more overs in Hyderabad, having bowled only seven overs combined in their last two games.
PBKS Probable Playing XI : Prabhsimran Singh (wk.), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson
Impact Player : Yash Thakur
SRH vs PBKS : Probable Best Performers for the Match
Probable Best Batter: Ishan Kishan
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Ishan Kishan could be the best batter in the upcoming game against Punjab Kings. Kishan began the season with a magnificent ton, but hasn’t fired since then. The side will bank on him to get some runs to boost his confidence.
Probable Best Bowler: Yuzvendra Chahal
PBKS’ Yuzvendra Chahal could be the best bowler in the upcoming game against SRH. Chahal has just picked up one wicket in the four innings, but has been on the economical side. The leg spinner, who is the highest wicket-taker of the league, will be hoping to bamboozle the opposition batters with his variations.
SRH vs PBKS : Match Prediction
Scenario 1
- Sunrisers Hyderabad win the toss and bowl
- PP Score – 40-50
- PBKS- 200-220
- Sunrisers Hyderabad win the match
Scenario 2
- Punjab Kings win the toss and bowl
- PP score – 50-60
- LSG – 180-200
- Punjab Kings win the match
Also Read:Â PBKS vs RR: Head Coach Ricky Ponting Hails Shreyas Iyer After Win Over LSG