Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Punjab Kings in their fourth match of the Indian Premier League 2026 in a clash of two batting heavyweights at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. Both teams are coming into this clash after a break.
Meanwhile, England international Liam Livingstone missed out for SRH as PBKS opted to bowl first. SRH stand-in captain Ishan Kishan confirmed that his side has made two changes to the team that lost to Lucknow Super Giants on April 5. Livingstone missed out as wicketkeeper, and batter Salil Arora came in for him. Meanwhile, fast medium bowler Praful Hinge makes his debut with Jaydev Unadkat making way out.ย
Why is Livingstone not playing?
Kishan did not reveal the reason behind Livingstone’s absence, but it is understood that this is due to tactical changes. The England international is not in much form, either, having made just one 30-plus score in the last 10 T20 innings.ย
“We would have loved to bowl first. But yeah, I think wicket looks pretty hard to me. And it’s about playing good cricket in the first innings. (On captaining) Obviously, it’s a big disadvantage for any team. Pat is a tremendous bowler. He gets on with an experience of his.ย
“But still, I feel we’ve got a young side, young bowlers today in the team. Hopefully, we’ll just try and execute the plans, which is the most important thing in T20 cricket. Yeah, there are two changes. Salil comes in in place of Livingstone and Praful Hinge, it’s his debut game, in place of Jaydev Unadkat,” Kishan said at the toss.
PBKS opt to bowl first
Meanwhile, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first. “We’re going to bowl first. It’s a day game and obviously want to get a knack of how the wicket is going to play and a fair idea. But other than that, that’s what we’ve been doing in the last couple of games.ย
“We’ve been thriving on that. (Things to address?) I personally feel that you can’t control the nature of the weather. You’ve just got to go with the flow. And I personally feel that we don’t have to address anything at any point of time.ย
“Just back each other, back all the youngsters in the team. The more you tell them, the more confusing it gets for them. So, it’s better that they live in their own nature and express themselves. No, we’re going with the same team. Actually, bowling first, Priyansh comes in for Nehal,” Iyer said.