Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], May 27 (ANI): Stepping out in the field in Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) loud and vibrant Orange jersey on his home soil, opener Abhishek Sharma will be eyeing to improve his underwhelming IPL and T20 knockout numbers.

It will be a do-or-die match-up for SRH against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the eliminator, as the winner will get a shot at the trophy by facing Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Qualifier two. Abhishek has had his best season so far statistically and will be aiming to continue making an impact after a horrific slump during the T20 World Cup and the early stages of the IPL.

Abhishek is the eighth-highest run-getter this season, with 563 runs in 14 innings at an average of 43.30 and a strike rate of over 206.22, including a century and four fifties and a best score of 135*.

Abhishek has had a poor run in IPL playoffs, scoring just 3, 12 and 2 in the 2024 season, when he faced Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Qualifier one and the final and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2.

His overall T20 knockout run, including his matches for the Punjab state team and Team India, is lacklustre too. He has managed just 248 runs in 15 matches and innings at an average of 17.71 and a strike rate of 137.77, with three fifties and a best score of 77.

Abhishek's most recent knockout stage outing was for India in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, where the left-hander silenced all critics with a breezy 21-ball 52 at Ahmedabad.

This season, there have been instances of Abhishek playing as deep as possible in an innings, and the southpaw has become slightly more mature in terms of handling different match situations. Could Abhishek's evolution as a cricketer continue with a power-packed knock in Qualifier 2?

Squads:

Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Sushant Mishra, Aman Rao Perala, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Adam Milne, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Kuldeep Sen, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Emanjot Singh Chahal, Vignesh Puthur

Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: 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, Praful Hinge, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Zeeshan Ansari, Gerald Coetzee, Dilshan Madushanka, Krains Fuletra, Onkar Tarmale, RS Ambrish, Amit Kumar. (ANI)