This is an amazing start for SRH! They have posted 79 runs in the first six overs, while losing the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. Travis Head still holds one end tight, while Ishan Kishan has also looked good at the other end.

SRH 79-1 (6)

Runs keep coming for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Marco Jansen was given his second over, and Travis Head slammed the pacer for two fours. A total of 11 runs came off the over. Head has moved to 27 off 13 balls.

SRH 65-1 (5)

Big wicket for Punjab Kings! Abhishek Sharma has been dismissed by Lockie Ferguson. The SRH opener sliced the hard-length ball in the air, and Shreyas Iyer took the catch while running in from mid-off.

Abhishek Sharma c Shreyas Iyer b Lockie Ferguson 35(13) [4s-2 6s-4]

SRH 54-1(3.3)

If it was Abhishek Sharma until the second over, Travis Head joined him in the third, slamming Arshdeep Singh for two sixes and one four. A total of 16 runs came off the over. SRH are off to a flying start here.

SRH 48-0 (3)

6, 4 6 - Abhishek Sharma to Marco Jansen! A tad fuller from Jansen, and Abhishek Sharma sends it into the crowd over long-off. Jansen pulls back his length, bowling a short one, and Abhishek gets a top edge on it that flies away through fine leg for a four. Jansen follows it with a short-of-a-length ball, and Abhishek slams it over long-on for another six.

Arshdeep Singh pitched it fuller on the second delivery, and Abhishek Sharma played a handsome inside-out shot for a six. The ball sailed over long-off for the biggie. A total of 11 runs came off the over.

SRH 11-0 (1)

The SRH innings begins! Arshdeep Singh starts with a yorker delivery. That swings a bit away from Abhishek Sharma and the southpaw defends it. Travis Head is at the other end.

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact subs: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain.

"I also would have bowled first. Hopefully we come up great tonight. The crowds have supported us very well this season. I can't really judge the pitch, hopefully we will put some runs on the board. Nitish (Reddy) is back for us tonight," said SRH captain Pat Cummins.

"We will bowl first. So far we have learned amazing things in the last few matches we have lost. We have no complaints so far because of travelling. Everyone is holding up well as professionals. Last match SRH chased so I thought we will bowl. Shashank (Singh) comes in," said PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer.

Pat Cummins flips the coin in the air and Shreyas Iyer calls it right! The Punjab Kings captain has opted to bowl against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 game in Hyderabad tonight!

Travis Head has roared back to form with successive fifties in recent outings. Abhishek Sharma has been among the runs too while and Heinrich Klaasen has been a picture of consistency through the season.

With the ball, Hyderabad remain a well-rounded unit. The return of captain Cummins has added bite to their attack. The pace group has shown commendable control, particularly in the death overs.

Third-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will be eager to bounce back from a seven-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders that snapped their five-match winning streak. The loss also cost the Pat Cummins-led side a chance to move to the top of the table.

The bowling unit, Punjab's weak link throughout the season, has offered little respite. Even in victories, the bowlers have allowed opposition batters to score freely in phases, and their lack of discipline at crucial junctures has made closing out innings a persistent problem.

Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, Praful Hinge, Harsh Dubey, Liam Livingstone, Sakib Hussain, Zeeshan Ansari, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Gerald Coetzee, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dilshan Madushanka, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, RS Ambrish, Amit Kumar.

Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Musheer Khan, Mitchell Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shashank Singh, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash, Vishal Nishad.

Punjab Kings's recent dip can largely be attributed to a loss of rhythm. Their explosive performances with the bat had covered up for an inconsistent bowling unit much of the season, but the cracks have now begun to show.

The top order, which set the tempo in the early phase, has faltered. Their middle order has also struggled to stitch together meaningful partnerships, often relying on individual brilliance rather than collective rebuilding, leading to sub-par totals and faltering chases.

Punjab Kings, which had emerged as the team to beat with six wins on the trot, stumbled in the last two matches and both the defeats exposed frailties they would be keen to address swiftly.

Despite leading the standings with 13 points from nine games, the margin for error has narrowed considerably, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans all within touching distance, just a point behind.

Punjab Kings batters will be under pressure to halt a worrying slide when they face a confident Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 in Hyderabad tonight. Hello everyone, welcome to the live blog of the game. Stay connected!