Sixth-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns with Kings XI Punjab - who are languishing at the bottom - in Match 22 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and both teams will be eyeing a winning return at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Sunrisers have historically been a bowling-heavy team that depends heavily on their fast-bowling, but with Bhuvneshwar Kumar out injured, Sunrisers Hyderabad are certainly in a spot of bother. It was apparent in their previous match as well, where in the absence of Kumar proved to be a factor not only at the beginning but also at the death.

While the form of Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma would have given the management a lot of confidence, Sunrisers' batting still appears to be a little too over-reliant on their top four. Bairstow has looked all out of sorts in the recent matches and will quickly need to step up his game. Manish Pandey has been too adventurous in the middle-order, resulting in his early dismissal more often than not. Pushing Kane Williamson to bat at number three could help Sunrisers with their problems.

Although the Sunrisers were thrashed in the previous match, there were plenty of positives for them in that match against Mumbai Indians. Replacing Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma bowled well at the top. He is generally more effective while bowling with the new ball and David Warner will be looking to extract at least three good overs from Sandeep Sharma upfront. Another major positive for the Sunrisers was David Warner's return to form.

Despite the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers Hyderabad seems to be having a decent bowling attack at their disposal. The sheer presence of Rashid Khan to bowl in the middle-overs adds sharpness to their bowling attack while T Natarajan as shown that he is as good as any when it comes to bowling yorkers. On a surface that is expected to be conducive to spin, Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samad can come in handy, even with the ball. Death bowling, however, seems to be a bit under the clouds of uncertainty.

When the Kings XI Punjab romped past Royal Challengers Bangalore, no one would have imagined that the Kings will find themselves in the position they are in. They have been dismal in all the matches they played thereafter and would need a spectacular effort to bounce back from here. Their net run-rate of 0.178 pretty much suggests that the margins of their losses haven't been huge and had a few things gone here or there, Kings XI Punjab could have been in a lot better position.

Their middle-order hasn't really contributed up until now. Nicholas Pooran's innings in the last match would have imbibed a lot of confidence among the team, but would still want Glenn Maxwell to get into the groove sooner rather than later.

Despite all the ups and downs, Kings XI Punjab's batting has done reasonably well and it has been their bowling that has lost them the matches more often than not. In the current edition of the IPL, Kings XI Punjab have been the most expensive team at the death over and unless they make some drastic changes to their playing eleven, this trend is likely to continue. Punjab's bowling was so poor in the last match that they couldn't even pick up one wicket in their last match, against Chennai Super Kings.

Going into the upcoming match, expect a major change to this Kings XI Punjab's lineup. It is highly likely that one of Sheldon Cottrell or Chris Jordan will make way for Mujeeb Ur Rahman to come into the lineup. Also, even though Harpreet Brar wasn't too bad in the previous match, we expect him to make way for Ishan Porel for Kings to strengthen their batting lineup. Barring Shami and Bishnoi, none of their bowlers has looked threatening. Frequent chops and changes to their lineup haven't helped either considering that Murugan Ashwin, who had done pretty well up until then, was dropped to make way for K Gowtham.

They are going to be under a lot of pressure to perform in the upcoming match and that may well just bring out of the best out of them.

Weather Forecast
It will be a hot and humid day in the city with the sky expected to be mainly clear. The maximum temperature is likely to touch 37 degree Celsius, while the minimum will be around 28 degrees. There is almost no chance of precipitation. The playing conditions will be heavy owing to the humidity which could reach up to 50 per cent. At 21 kmph, the wind is likely to affect the game.

Pitch Report
Dubai is perhaps the most balanced track of the three venues this IPL season. The wicket is dry and the grass covering on the pitch is just to hold the surface together. The pitch has largely assisted the batsmen but the spinners have lately been able to get some turn off the wicket. A par score for the Dubai wicket will be in excess of 180.

Toss Prediction
In all the matches played here so far in this seasion, only once the team batting second has emerged on top. So naturally, the team who wins the toss would like to bat first.

Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 14
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 10
Kings XI Punjab: 4

Approaching Milestones:
Manish Pandey needs 10 runs to complete 3000 IPL runs.
David Warner requires 54 runs to complete 3500 IPL runs for SRH.
Mohammad Shami is 2 wickets away from completing 50 IPL wickets.
KL Rahul needs 9 sixes to complete 100 IPL sixes.

Likely XIs:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (capt), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, T Natarajan

Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (capt, wk), Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle/Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Jordan/James Neesham, Harpreet Brar/M Ashwin/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sheldon Cottrell, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi

Players to Watch Out For:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle/Glenn Maxwell, Ravi Bishnoi

Match Odds:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1.8
Kings XI Punjab: 2.0

SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Kings XI Punjab

IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 3.6
Delhi Capitals - 4
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 6
Kolkata Knight Riders - 6
Chennai Super Kings - 11
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 13
Rajasthan Royals - 15
Kings XI Punjab - 21

Match Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP