Sunrisers aim at consolidation against Kings XI

Hyderabad, May 10 (IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will look to consolidate their position among the top four during their match against bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Monday.

Hyderabad's six-run victory over Delhi Daredevils in Raipur on Saturday improved their current campaign, having begun on an average note struggling in the lower half of the table. They have collected 12 points from 11 matches so far.

But Saturday's win helped them to jump up the crucial play-off spot, claiming the fourth place behind the leading trio of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Sunrisers will be hoping for their in-form destructive opening duo of David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan to fire them again to a strong total that will set them the platform for a comfortable victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

The smashing opening duo has been the team's trump card this season and has covered up for the team's batting weaknesses in the middle-order despite the presence of formidable names in Eoin Morgan and Moises Henriques.

The team's bowling strength, boasting premium pacers Dale Steyn, Trent Boult, Bhunveshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma, have been their biggest asset.

The team fancies itself to win once its batsmen put up a decent total on the board.

Punjab's doomed campaign has witnessed them win just two of the 11 matches they have prepared. The team's big names like Australian troika -- Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson -- have failed in unison.

Their Indian brigade comprising Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha have also failed to give a good account of themselves.

The team has failed to play to its potential this year after reaching the final last year. But they will look to play for pride and bow out of the competition by winning their remaining three matches.

The squads:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Naman Ojha, Kane Williamson, Dale Steyn, Moises Henriques, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Trent Boult, Parveez Rasool, Karn Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Chama Milind, Praveen Kumar, Hanuma Vihari, Prasanth Padmanabhan, Siddarth Kaul. Bipul Sharma.

Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (captain), Murali Vijay, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Axar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Anureet Singh, Karanveer Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Beuran Hendricks, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Thisara Perera, Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Golwalkar.