Two playoff ambitions will collide when we take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Our away game vs SRH starts at 7:30 PM IST.

With 12 points from 11 games, we are currently fifth on the IPL 2024 points table. SRH, meanwhile, are fourth with exactly the same number of points from the same number of matches.

With only net run rate placing us below SRH and third-placed CSK, a win against a direct top-four rival on Wednesday can go a long way in helping us make the playoffs for the third successive season.

We have never missed the playoffs in our two seasons in the IPL so far and we don’t intend to break the tradition anytime soon.

The boys are eager to bounce back after the disappointing loss to KKR in our last home game of the season. The fact that we have never lost a game against SRH will be a big confidence booster going into the crucial fixture.

We’ll be counting on our big game players to step up for the big match. Kaptaan KL Rahul has led us from the front this season and will be in focus against SRH as well.

Marcus Stoinis, too, has been in sensational form with the bat since his promotion to No. 3 and our Australian dynamo is capable of winning us any match singlehandedly and so is Nicholas Pooran.

On a high-scoring Hyderabad pitch, Mohsin Khan and Yash Thakur’s ability to provide early breakthroughs may prove crucial. We’ll also need to keep things tight in the middle overs, making our spin duo Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bisnoi vital pieces of the puzzle.

Naveen ul-Haq shone with the ball against KKR, albeit in a losing cause, in our last outing and will be eager to carry the form forward

News from SRH camp

Pat Cummins-led SRH have run hot and cold this season, making it hard to predict what to expect from them on any given day.

With a destructive batting line-up featuring the likes of Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram, SRH can prove to be a big test for our bowling battery.

T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been their standout bowlers this season and can prove to be tricky customers in their own backyard. Cummins’ all-round credentials will also be something we need to be wary of.

Weather and ground conditions may also play a part in how the all-important match plays out. Hyderabad saw thunderstorms and heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday’s forecast also predicts a 40 percent chance of rain and 24 percent chance of thunderstorms in the region on matchday.

SRH VS LSG history

We are yet to face defeat against Hyderabad in the IPL. We rode a KL Rahul half-century to beat them by 12 runs in IPL 2022 before picking up a five-wicket victory at home last season.

In the reverse fixture of IPL 2023, we beat them comfortably by seven wickets in Hyderabad. 

Stats that matter

  • KL Rahul is three runs away from 7500 T20 career runs.
  • Nicholas Pooran is six runs away from 1500 T20 Runs on Indian soil.
  • Marcus Stoinis is three wickets away from 50 T20 wickets in Asia.
  • Nicholas Pooran is five fours away from 100 IPL Fours.

How to watch SRH vs LSG live

Venue: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

Match start time: May 8, 7:30 PM IST

Streaming: Jio Cinema

TV channel: Star Sports Network