With 14 points under their belt from 11 matches, the Sunrisers Hyderabad are comfortably perched at the top of the VIVO IPL 2016 points table as teams are fighting to make it to the Playoffs in the latter half of the tournament.

As they look to consolidate their position in the points table, SRH will take on the Kings XI Punjab, who have kept their Playoff-hopes alive under the captaincy of Murali Vijay, at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday. While the team from Hyderabad lost their last match to the Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab will come in to the game with the confidence of having beaten the Mumbai Indians.

Speaking about the opposition in Mohali ahead of their pre-match practice, SRH coach Tom Moody said, “There is no doubt that KXIP are a dangerous side. They have match-winning players within their XI. They haven’t had a consistent tournament to date, but we know very well that on their day they can beat any team. So we certainly know that we need to bring out our ‘A’ game tomorrow. And our focus will be, more so, on concentrating on us continuing to improve as a side. That’s pretty much our theme throughout the tournament, looking to improve in all different aspects of the game. Tomorrow will be no different. There are certain areas where we’ll continue to look to improve. And if we concentrate on that, the outcome, hopefully, will be what we want.”

One of the most consistent teams in this season, the Sunrisers have flourished under the leadership of David Warner. Leading from the front, the opener has also been the top-scorer for the team this season, providing the side a solid foundation with Shikhar Dhawan. Asked if the team’s batting unit has been heavily reliant on the openers, Moody said, “Shikhar and David have had a very good tournament to this point. Like any team, in T20, you need success at the top of the order. You need form (and) we’ve got that. At times, you pay the price for that. A lot of players in the middle-order don’t get exposure to the crease. I’d rather have that than the middle-order having to be exposed with us losing early wickets all the time. I am pretty comfortable with the form of the players in the middle-order. They all have practised hard. They all have contributed at different times of the tournament. Both Shikhar and David have set the tone for us upfront and may that continue.”

“If we drop our guard in any of the departments – bat, ball or in fielding – we know that they are a side that can hit hard,” Moody said explaining that KXIP can make them pay if they’re not on top of their game. While the top-order has done bulk of the work for SRH, their pace battery led by Ashish Nehra has been the undoing for most oppositions. The experienced campaigner has helped dismantle line-ups with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Moises Henriques and Mustafizur Rahman. And they would be key to keeping the Murali Vijay-led line-up in check on Sunday afternoon.

The visitors will also be armed with inputs on local conditions by the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Co. “It is always nice to have players that have experience within the local conditions. One, they obviously know how the surfaces plays. They also feel comfortable given the number of games they have played here. And also, they have a bit of local support. So, all those things add up to small advantages. I am still sure that the majority of the support will be behind Kings XI. Again, we come to expect that in an away-game. You are not expecting to have a huge amount of people siding on your side when it is an away game,” Moody said.

Discussing the Sunrisers’ season and what has helped them perform consistently in the ongoing edition of the tournament, he explained, “If you look at the squad we have got this year, against previous years, we’ve filled a couple of critical areas of our squad to make us a side that’s a little more complete with bat-ball. And we’ve got some great experience to pick up the likes of Yuvraj (Singh) and (Ashish) Nehra. It not only helps the depth of the squad but also the experience within the group.”

Armed with an explosive top-order, a strong bowling unit and experienced campaigners on the field, SRH will take on Kings XI Punjab at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali in an effort to further strengthen their campaign for their maiden IPL title.