Abhishek Sharma smashed 141 from 55 balls the last time Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad met. | Photo Credit: KVS GIRI

Punjab Kings is the team in form; Sunrisers Hyderabad, not so much.

Does that mean that PBKS (two wins and a No Result) starts as the heavy favourite against SRH (one victory and two losses) when the two sides clash in an IPL 2026 match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium here on Saturday? Not really.

A glance at the scorecard from the last time these two teams met (Hyderabad, April 12, 2025) provides necessary context.

Sunrisers, coming off a four-match losing streak, hunted down the 246-run target with nine balls and eight wickets to spare, thanks to a 55-ball 141 from Abhishek Sharma.

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Since then, not much has changed in terms of personnel in the Sunrisers batting line-up. In fact, it has only added more firepower with the acquisition of Liam Livingstone.

It is this reputation that keeps Sunrisers alive in any contest.

Abhishek’s whirlwind knock is still fresh in PBKS batter Shashank Singh’s mind. On the learnings from that game, Shashank said, “Abhishek’s innings that day in Hyderabad was one of the best I’ve ever seen in the IPL. We look at videos to see what lengths we could’ve bowled, but not in a way where we stress on the result. There is no hard-and-fast rule that this is how we analyse a match, but we do take learnings from every game.”

This is where PBKS will rely on skipper Shreyas Iyer’s experience.

The 31-year-old will do well to guide the young PBKS willow-wielders on the approach needed against the batting-heavy Sunrisers.

Another factor is dew being out of the equation in this afternoon fixture, which should empower SRH pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel to use their biggest weapons — cutters and change of pace — more effectively.

Past results suggest that SRH holds the edge over PBKS (a 17-7 win-loss record).

The question remains: will history trump recent form?

Published on Apr 10, 2026