IPL 2025: Eshan Malinga debuts as Punjab elect to bat against Hyderabad

Hyderabad, April 12: Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bat first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Saturday. The 22-year-old Sri Lanka pacer, Eshan Malinga, will make his IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad, replacing compatriot Kamindu Mendis, whereas Punjab Kings decided to go ahead with the same playing XI.

Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer said, "We are going to bat. In the last few games, we have batted first, and we have the ability to post good scores. We want to play some aggressive cricket, that's our mindset at the moment. We have seen that we don't have a fantastic record in the power-play. We don't have that thought at the back of our minds. Every individual in our team plays their own brand of cricket. We have to be top-notch and need to back our instincts. We have to keep repeating that again and again. Playing with the same team."

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said, "It's fine. I think we can chase anything. Not an ideal start. But we are training really well. Everyone is in a good space. We have lost a few in a row, but that isn't ideal. One change. Malinga comes in the side for Kamindu Mendis."

While Shreyas Iyer's side has won three out of their four games, the hosts have lost four games on the trot and are in search of a win. But Punjab Kings' youngster Nehal Wadhera insisted that his side will not take the opposition lightly ahead of the upcoming encounter.

Playing XIs:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (capt), Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari, Mohammed Shami, Eshan Malinga

Impact Substitutes: Abhinav Manohar, Sachin Baby, Wiaan Mulder, Rahul Chahar, Jaydev Unadkat

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Substitutes: Suryansh Shedge, Harpreet Brar, Yash Ravisingh Thakur, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Praveen Dubey

Reader Comments

R

Rahul K.

Excited to see Malinga Jr. make his debut! Hope he carries forward his father's legacy with those deadly yorkers 🔥 Punjab's batting lineup looks solid though, this should be a good contest!

P

Priya M.

Not sure about Punjab's decision to bat first again... Their powerplay record isn't great as Iyer himself admitted. SRH's bowling attack could exploit that weakness early on.

A

Arjun S.

Cummins sounds confident but SRH really need to turn things around. 4 losses in a row is rough 😬 Malinga's debut might just be the spark they need!

S

Sanjana R.

That Punjab middle order with Maxwell and Stoinis is terrifying! If they get going, this could be another high-scoring thriller 💥

V

Vikram P.

Respectful criticism: I think SRH made a mistake dropping Kamindu. His all-round abilities were useful. Hope Malinga proves me wrong though!

N

Neha T.

Can't wait to see the young talent in action! Both teams have some exciting new players. IPL never disappoints with fresh talent 🌟

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.