IPL 2016, SRH vs RPS Playing 11: Today's Probable XI for Rising Pune Supergiants (Confirmed Playing 11)

Confirmed Playing 11: Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Steven Smith, Thisara Perera, MS Dhoni(W/C), Mitchell Marsh, Rajat Bhatia, Saurabh Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Ashok Dinda

The 22nd match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will see the Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on the Rising Pune Supergiants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad. The Sunrisers have shown superb form as they recovered from back-to-back losses at the start of the season to win 3 consecutive games.

RPS, however, have a completely contrasting tale to tell as they began on a high after thrashing defending champions Mumbai Indians but have failed to win a single match ever since. MS Dhoni's magic does not seem to be working at the moment for his new team, and he will be hoping that Pune can stage a recovery in the matches to follow.

The first step in the right direction for them will be to beat a rampaging SRH side in their home conditions.

Let's take a look at the team that may Rising Pune Supergiants in Tuesday's encounter:

Batting

The RPS openers, Ajinkya Rahane, and Faf du Plessis, have done the bulk of the scoring for them in their 5 matches thus far. Rahane has been in great form and is Pune's leading run-scorer in the tournament with 223 runs at an average of just below 56. du Plessis, meanwhile, has scored 176 runs at an average of 36.50.

Apart from the opening duo, only skipper MS Dhoni has made a notable contribution to the batting with 87 runs in 4 innings. Kevin Pietersen is out injured whereas Steve Smith is struggling for form. The Supergiants batsmen will have to come up with their A-game in the rest of the tournament if they want to make a comeback.

All-rounders

Although the Pune squad has a number of proven all-rounders, none of them has been able to make a great impact so far. In fact, only Thisara Perera has performed decently with 54 runs and 5 wickets to his credit. Rajat Bhatia has been good with the ball but has hardly done anything with the bat.

Dhoni's CSK team-mate Albie Morkel played for the first time this season in RPS' previous match against KKR and did reasonably well. The all-rounders need to make a bigger contribution for the Supergiants as they progress further in the 2016 IPL.

Bowling

Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin has excelled for the Rising Pune Supergiants in his very first year of playing in the IPL. The youngster has been the find of the tournament with 7 wickets in 5 matches and best figures of 3 for 36. Pune's second most successful bowler has been Perera whereas Bhatia has also picked up 3 wickets with a miserly economy of under 6.

The rest of the bowling has underperformed badly for the IPL newcomers and has been a primary reason for their poor run during the current season. An improved showing from the bowlers is desperately required by the Pune team if they wish to make an impression in their first season.

Probable Playing XI – Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Steve Smith, MS Dhoni (c) (wk), Saurabh Tiwary, Thisara Perera, Albie Morkel, Rajat Bhatia, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Ankit Sharma.