Hyderabad, May 19 (IANS): Punjab Kings (PBKS) stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match 69 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, here on Sunday.
In the absence of Sam Curran, Jitesh is leading the team. Punjab will be missing a bunch of their overseas players in the match as most of them have returned home to prepare for the T20 World Cup with only Rilee Rossouw featuring in the playing XI.
"We would like to bat. I think wicket is looking good, we want to score big and put SRH under pressure. Proud and grateful to captain my side today. We have few options because all the overseas have gone. Only Rilee Rossouw is gonna play. We have exciting talent waiting for their opportunity and they are gonna give their best today. Nothing to lose today, we are here to play some good cricket," Jitesh said at at the toss.
On the other hand, Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins made only one change as Rahul Tripathi has returned to the team. "The fans have been awesome this season here. We are pretty well set-up for both (bat first or ball first. I'm a terrible reader of wickets, looks like a nice wicket. Looks dry and firm. Only one change for us. Rahul Tripathi comes in for a bowler," he said.
The home side is coming after a washout against Gujarat Titans while Punjab Kings defeated Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in their last game.
A win for Hyderabad will bolster their hopes of finishing in top two places as table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will lock horns in the final league stage encounter in the evening.
Currently, KKR lead the list with 19 points followed by Rajasthan (16 points), Hyderabad (15 points) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (14 points), respectively.
Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Reddy, Rahul Tripathi, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Travis Head, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Ashutosh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Rishi Dhawan, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar.
Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Arshdeep Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Singh Bhatia