In an upcoming IPL fixture, table-toppers Punjab Kings will face Sunrisers Hyderabad. The key contest is between SRH's in-form pacer Eshan Malinga and the struggling PBKS pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen, with the top spot at stake.
Malinga and Arshdeep-Jansen have had a contrasting 2026 season so far. PBKS have slipped to two back-to-back losses, but remain the table toppers. However, if SRH win, they have a chance to top the table with 14 points and put another dent in PBKS' campaign, which started with a seven-match unbeaten streak.
Malinga's Massive Improvement
Eshan is the only frontline bowling option to have featured in all 10 matches for SRH so far. It has been a season marked by a massive improvement for the Sri Lankan pacer. Starting the season with three wickets at an average of 41.67 in the first three matches, Malinga has taken 12 wickets at an average of 16.75 in his next seven matches. So far, he is SRH's top wicket-taker, with 15 wickets at an average of 21.73, including a four-fer and joint third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, as per ESPNCricinfo.
Struggles for PBKS Pace Duo
But the road has been extremely tough, littered with fours, sixes and plenty of poor deliveries for Arshdeep and Jansen. As per ESPNCricinfo, among all the bowlers to have bowled at least 30 overs this season, Jansen has the second fewest wickets, with a total of six (at an average of 48.16 and an economy rate of 9.22), while Arshdeep's leaking economy rate of 10.38 is the most expensive. He has fared decently in terms of wickets, with 10 scalps at an average of 35.30 and an ecomony rate of 10.38, with best figures of 3/22.
Last season in PBKS' highly-acclaimed performance, where they finished runners-up to RCB, Arshdeep and Jansen took 37 wickets combined at an average of 25.73, but their joint numbers this season paint a picture of two bowlers struggling for form and rhythm, having taken 16 wickets at an average of 40.13. This has not helped PBKS's fiery batting line-up as they are left to watch their team concede heaps of runs despite their efforts to put the opposition under pressure.
Last season, Arshdeep was among the top five-wicket takers with 21 scalps at an average of 24.66, while Jansen also took 16 scalps at an average of 27.12.
Eshan or Arshdeep-Jansen, who will prevail?
Squads
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Musheer Khan, Mitchell Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shashank Singh, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash, Vishal Nishad
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, Praful Hinge, Harsh Dubey, Liam Livingstone, Sakib Hussain, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Gerald Coetzee, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dilshan Madushanka, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, RS Ambrish, Amit Kumar. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)-
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