Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their final league stage game at home as they look to keep their bid alive for the second spot on the points table in the 2024 edition of the IPL. Sunrisers currently have 15 points in their kitty and will need to win their final game to keep their hopes alive of playing the first qualifier with Rajasthan Royals waiting in the wings to have their chance to clinch the spot. The only hope for SRH for the game will be, that it doesn't rain in Hyderabad on Sunday, May 19.
Rajasthan Royals already have 16 points and if they lose their final league game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), they will be restricted to 16 only. If the predicted rain washes out the day encounter between Sunrisers and Punjab in Hyderabad, SRH too will finish the group stage with 16 points. SRH have a better NRR (0.406) than the Royals (0.273) and if there's a 16-point tie, the Pat Cummins should ideally go ahead of the Men in Pink.
However, in this case, the Royals will seal the second spot. Before the net run rate, the number of wins for each team is checked in case of the same number of points. The Royals have already won eight matches and hence have 16 points in their name while the Sunrisers will only have 14 points from the seven wins with two being from as many washed-out games. Hence, a positive result is what SRH will want and the Royals will be cheering on the Punjab Kings to finish on a high.
The prediction shows scattered thunderstorms at around 3:30-5 PM IST but the radar shows clear for the rest of the evening with a cloud cover, which suggests that it could be a shortened game but a result is very much on the cards. The Royals will be playing their game later in the evening and hence will be aware of all the permutations and combinations regarding qualification in second spot.
