PUNE: As David Warner hit the winning runs against Gujarat Lions in Kanpur on Saturday, Sunrisers Hyderabad secured a playoff spot and kept two other contenders -
Rising Pune Supergiant
and
Kings XI Punjab
- waiting.
A loss for Hyderabad would have sealed both Pune and Punjab's berths in the top four. But now, they will have to fight it out for the final slot in a virtual 'knockout' when they clash at the MCA Stadium in Gahunje on Sunday.
As things stand, Pune have 16 points and Punjab 14. Both will finish with 16 if Punjab beat Pune on Sunday. But since Pune have an awful net runrate (-0.083), compared to Punjab (+0.296), the Steve Smith-led side will be knocked out if they lose.
Punjab have remained in contention by winning four of their last five games. Their last two victories have come against top title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, defending totals of 167 for 6 and 230 for 3, respectively. As they face another must-win situation, it remains to be seen if
Glen Maxwell
's bravehearts can continue with their brand of fearless cricket.
Pune no longer have the services of prolific wicket-taker Imran Tahir, so the onus of providing the team with breakthroughs will be on pacers Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Stokes, Shardul Thakur and Daniel Christian.
Unadkat has established himself in the Pune lineup. The left-arm seamer has taken 19 wickets in nine games, at an average of 14.05 and economy rate of 7.66.
England allrounder Stokes has justified his price of tag of Rs 14.5 crore, having bagged 12 wickets and aggregated 316 runs, including a century, in 11matches.
Pune will also hope that the top three - Ajinkya Ra hane, Rahul Tripathi and skipper
Steve Smith - provides the team the right platform for the likes of MS Dhoni, Manoj Tiwary and Stokes to capitalize on the in the last few overs. Punjab, on the other hand, will bank on their batting. Even after the prolific Hashim Amla left for South Africa, Punjab piled up this season's highest total (230/3) in their last game with wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha coming to the party.