Sunrisers Hyderabad look to seal IPL play-off berth with win vs Gujarat Lions

Sunrisers Hyderabad would seal a play-off berth if they defeat Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier league (IPL) 2017 match. The David Warner-led side have 15 points from 13 matches.

A heavy wind almost disrupted everything at the Green Park Stadium on Friday evening, and Sunrisers Hyderabad had to stop their training for a while as nets around the training wicket started flying in the air.

David Warner and Rashid Khan have been consistent performers for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL). (BCCI)

But it didn’t deter David Warner and his men, who kept their batting and bowling practice on. A win against hosts Gujarat Lions here would put SRH through to the play-offs of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 and they didn’t want to miss even few minutes of practice ahead of the big game.

On the other hand, Suresh Raina-led GL would love to finish the 2017 edition on a high. They would like to play party-poopers for the defending champions for whom it’s a do-or-die battle. SRH are currently at the fourth spot with 15 points and are being closely followed by Kings XI Punjab (14 points).

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Studded with local players, including Raina himself, the Gujarat Lions would again be banking on their track record at this ground where they have won two matches out of three.

Their experience of the last match at this venue against Delhi Daredevils, which they lost by two wickets with just two balls to spare on Wednesday, would count much and key batsmen like Ishan Kishan, Dwayne Smith and Aaron Finch have to come up with their best for one last time.

A win would help Sunrisers join Mumbai Indians in the top-four. What they need to do in the match against Gujarat Lions is to repeat their all-round performance, which they had against table-topper Mumbai Indians in their previous encounter.

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As expected, even in a day game situation, the centre wicket of the Green Park stadium would be helpful to bat on early as some light rolling on Friday afternoon was a clear indication of the wicket being a batsmen paradise at least in the second innings.

Besides having hard-hitting batsmen in the ranks like David Warner, Sunrisers have the luxury of having Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, and Moises Henriques to let their bats do the talking, and on such a wicket Yuvraj Singh’s potential to go for big hits may be a reality.

In the bowling department, the side is studded with T20 specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Afghan duo Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Siddarth Kaul and Mohammed Siraj.