Eyeing their first win of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking to put up an improved show in their home ground where they lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders, who would also be keen to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League.
Founded in 1992, Qarabag's Imarat Stadium is reduced to rubble and they play their home games 440km away in the capital Baku.
Notwithstanding Rising Pune Supergiants' poor run in IPL-9, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman considers the debutante side as a formidable unit and said his team will have to put its best foot forward when they clash with them in their IPL match on Tuesday. "It goes without saying that (RPS Captain M S Dhoni) Dhoni will be looking forward to use Ashwin against Warner and Shikhar. I believe that Pune has got a very formidable batting line up," Laxman said in a pre-match press conference at Hyderabad. "Lot of people talk about Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Faf Duplessis being similar. They are all extrordinary T20 players. We cannot at all be complecent or we cannot at all underestimate the batting strength of Pune. We are very mindful," he added. The former Test batsman, however, exuded confidence that SRH can take on any opposition if it sticks to its plans and executes them well. "But, I believe that if we concentrate on our plans and try to execute our plans, then we can do well against any opposition. It's more about concentrating and playing to our strength, while strategizing for each and every opposition batsman or bowler," he said. Noting that the MS Dhoni-led Pune team would look to bounce back strongly, Laxman said no team can be ruled out as it is still the early part of the long IPL tournament.
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 163 runs in the final test in Colombo on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 sweep in the three-match series. Chasing 324 for victory, Australia were all out for 160 half-an-hour before the tea break, succumbing to their third successive defeat against the hosts.
Dhananjaya de Silva hit a maiden century and combined with Dinesh Chandimal to resurrect Sri Lanka's innings after a poor start against Australia on the opening day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
Australia will be desperately hoping to play a full game under clear skies when they face arch-rivals England in their must-win Champions Trophy clash in Birmingham on Saturday.
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
Lack of intent in Daredevils players has been very surprising.
The race to find the continent's fastest woman saw Asher-Smith end the 100m reign of Dutchwoman Daphne Schippers in brilliant style, clocking 10.85, equalling the world's fastest time this year and setting a British record.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form will remain in focus when the struggling Rising Pune Supergiant square off against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune, on Saturday.
He has made rapid strides in limited overs cricket over the past couple of months but for Kuldeep Yadav, the ultimate challenge is to bowl long spells consistently in the Test format.
Captain Ravichandran Ashwin's superb all-round showing helped Kings XI Punjab outclass Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs, in the IPL match, in Mohali on Tuesda
Opener Shikhar Dhawan believes the right blend of youth and experience makes India a formidable side and it would be great if they can emulate the past success of five-time World champions Australia.
Newcastle United have signed Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic from Belgian side Anderlecht, subject to a work permit, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka beat Australia off last ball to win first T20
Australian opener David Warner and veteran fast bowler Ryan Harris have moved up to career-high positions in the ICC Test player rankings following their impressive contributions in Australia's series-winning third Test defeat of South Africa in Cape Town.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to get yet another win under their belt.
VfL Wolfsburg came close to staging a minor Champions League miracle but their 3-0 loss at Real Madrid in the last eight on Tuesday for a 3-2 aggregate defeat was a reflection of a season of missed opportunities, club officials said.
Defending champions ATK Kolkata scored their maiden victory in this year's Indian Super League when they got the better of Mumbai City FC 1-0 in Mumbai on Sunday.
Rogerio Ceni tied Pele's mark for most appearances at a Brazilian club on Wednesday but his 1,115th game in goal for Sao Paulo was not one to savour as his side went down 3-1 to Ponte Preta in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semi-final.
As someone with nostalgia for the good cheer and friendly feelings of Brazilian people, former Ambassador to Brazil B S Prakash can only hope that when they see on their TV screens their President being feted on Rajpath, they will sense India's goodwill for Brazil.
ending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad cruised into the Indian Premier League play-offs with an easy eight-wicket victory over Gujarat Lions.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Kings XI Punjab and much more.
The likes of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell have not managed to live up to expectations for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 8.
Their morale on the upswing after back-to-back victories, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will aim to continue the winning run when they take on the inconsistent Sunrisers Hyderabad in their fifth IPL cricket match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
After putting a stop to their prolonged losing streak, Delhi Daredevils will look to carry forward the momentum when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League encounter in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Snapped up for Rs 1.7 crore, Gurinder Sandhu is highly rated by Ricky Ponting.
Impressed with Kuldeep Yadav's performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar offered "honest advice" to India's selectors to keep an eye on the young left-arm spinner.
Faced with a do-or-die situation, the inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate Indian Premier League match.
Virat Kohli's inspirational leadership for Royal Challengers Bangalore will be up against the brute force with which David Warner has steered Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams, eyeing their maiden IPL title, square off in a high-intensity summit clash in Bengaluru on Sunday. RCB, however, will have a slight advantage over Sunrisers as they have the experience of playing in an IPL final twice in the past -- 2009 and 2011, but on both occasions, they had finished runners-up. Sunrisers' best finish was a play-off berth which they managed in their debut season in 2013.
Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has expressed unhappiness at the way the target for Royal Challengers Bangalore was revised under Duckworth/Lewis method.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player standings after the 30th game in IPL 10.
Led by aggressive Australian opener David Warner, Sunrisers would be relying mostly on foreigners to deliver the goods, given the scarcity of local stars in their ranks.
Captain Alastair Cook and fellow-opener Michael Carberry struck unbeaten centuries to humiliate a depleted Australia 'A' bowling attack and drive England to a record 318 without loss on day one of their tour match in Hobart on Wednesday.
Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own goal last week at Sevilla by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
The visitors will have to play out of their skins to arrest the slide and level the series ahead of the last T20I in Hyderabad on October 13.
Gujarat Lions will have to fight off the fiery pacers of the Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 2, in New Delhi, on Friday.
Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav sizzled with the ball as two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders rode on its spin attack to advance into the play-offs of the ongoing Indian Premier League with a 22-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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