IPL 2018 SRH vs KXIP: 5 player battles to look forward to between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab

#3 Sandeep Sharma v Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle has been in dangerous form

There is some doubt about the availability of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and if he doesn’t play, then Sandeep Sharma will take his place in the side. The right arm medium-pace bowler is a worthy replacement for the India star. He can swing the ball either way and in addition to that, his accuracy can often stifle the best batsmen in the business. He might not have a lot of pace but he is a tricky bowler to face and his incredible economy rate of 4.85 in the 2 games so far is proof of his prowess as a superb T20 bowler.

Chris Gayle is expected to return tonight and considering the sort of carnage he unleashed in the previous game against the same opponents, Sharma will have to be at his best during the opening exchanges. The good news for SRH is that the bowler has an excellent record against the Jamaican and has taken his wicket on four occasions. He has bowled 47 deliveries to him and in those Gayle has only managed to score 55 runs. This is going to be an engrossing contest.