IPL 2026: Sunrisers Hyderabad to Face Lucknow Super Giants in Sunday's Double-Header

Hyderabad. The second double-header of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be played on Sunday. The first match of the day between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants will begin at 3:45 PM at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad defeated Kolkata by 65 runs in their previous match at the Eden Gardens. On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants had a poor start this season. Under Justin Langer's coaching, the team was bundled out for just 141 runs in their first match against Delhi Capitals, resulting in a 6-wicket loss.

Looking at the head-to-head statistics, 6 matches have been played so far, with Lucknow winning 4 and Hyderabad winning 2. Last season, both teams won one match each against each other.

• Pant unsuccessful as an opener

Lucknow has big names like Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran, but the team lacks coordination. The experiment of sending captain Rishabh Pant to open in the previous match was a complete failure. Pant is now expected to return to batting at number 3, where he scored a century last season.

In bowling, the pair of Mohammed Shami and Prince Yadav provided a good start, but the team could not maintain pressure in the middle overs. Mystery leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi was not played in the previous match.

• Balanced Hyderabad unit looks strong

Ishan Kishan is currently leading Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has performed excellently in both captaincy and batting. The opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma is in form, while Heinrich Klaasen is strengthening the middle order.

The bowling unit also performed brilliantly in the previous match, restricting Kolkata to 161 runs. Jaydev Unadkat and Ehsan Malinga are playing crucial roles in the death overs.

Players to watch

• Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran has failed to cross the 17-run mark in 7 of his last 8 T20 matches. He was not in form during the SA20 league in January, and he did not play any cricket in February and March.

In this year's T20 calendar, he has scored only 121 runs at an average of 15 in 99 balls. He has hit only 9 sixes in his last 8 T20s. He also started IPL 2026 very slowly, scoring 8 runs off 8 balls. Will the Hyderabad pitch, considered favorable for batting, help him regain his rhythm?

• Shivang Kumar

As a left-arm wrist spinner, Shivang Kumar is a rare player in the IPL and could be the difference-maker in Hyderabad's playing-11. He took five wickets against Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and scored a half-century against Jharkhand.

In Kolkata, he conceded only two runs more than Sunil Narine and had a much better bowling figure than Varun Chakravarthy. Is this performance enough to give him a chance in Hyderabad's afternoon game?

• Pitch Report

The Rajiv Gandhi Stadium pitch is considered helpful for batsmen. The surface here is flat, making it easy to play shots and leading to high scores. As the game progresses, the pitch slows down, which starts to assist the spinners.

A total of 83 IPL matches have been played at this venue so far. The team batting first has won 10 out of 36 matches, while the team bowling first has won 21 out of 47 matches.

• Weather Report

The weather in Hyderabad during the match will be good for batting. There will be general cloud cover during the day, and the temperature will be around 34-36 degrees Celsius. It will certainly be hot in the afternoon, but since the chance of rain is very low, a full 40-over match is expected. As evening approaches, the temperature may drop slightly to 28-30 degrees Celsius.

Probable Playing-12 for both teams

• Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper/Captain), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Malinga, Liam Livingstone.
• Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (Captain/Wicketkeeper), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Chaudhary, Mohsin Khan, Mohammed Shami, Anrich Nortje, Prince Yadav, Avesh Khan.

Statistics and Interesting Facts

• The statistics of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head against Lucknow are quite explosive. Abhishek has scored runs at an average of 40 with a strike rate of 228.57 in five innings, while Head has scored runs at an average of 136 with a strike rate of 234.48 in two innings.

• Despite his poor batting form, Hyderabad is Pooran's favorite opponent. He is the only batsman in T20 franchise cricket history to maintain over 300 runs, an average of over 50, and a strike rate of over 200 against a single opponent.

• In the last 12 months, Mitchell Marsh's strike rate has been equally good against both pace (152.7) and spin (150.99). However, his average against pace bowling is 35.51, while it is 48.18 against spin.

What did they say?

'This is traditionally a high-scoring pitch and we have a good record of defending totals. But we also like to chase runs. As a team, we want to be equally confident regardless of the situation. We are the first team to defend a score this season. It is important for us to do both jobs well and our batting group has that adaptability.' - Daniel Vettori, Head Coach, Sunrisers Hyderabad

'T20 is always in favor of the batsmen. Batsmen are expected to play big shots and the audience comes to watch that too. But personally, I think bowlers have the opportunity to perform well and become heroes. To do well, a bowler must believe in his ability.' - Bharat Arun, Bowling Coach, Lucknow Super Giants