Home is still up for grabs in New Chandigarh

Punjab Kings don't plan to spend much time at 'home' this season. One game in New Chandigarh so far and already 25% of their fixtures here are done. The schedule, to be fair, reflects how the last few years have panned out, when their better results have often come on the road.

Homecoming for PBKS has rarely carried the weight it does for some of the other franchises. Not yet, at least. New Chandigarh, where they have lost 15 of their 21 matches, is still not a venue they instinctively understand. And for a team that has drifted across Dharamsala, Pune, Indore and Mohali over the years, the idea of yet another "home" has perhaps needed time to settle.

There has been some improvement, with four wins in seven matches since last year, but there is still a long way to go.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have enjoyed better days at home, now know what it feels like when it does not quite work. They have won only two of their last seven matches at home across the last two seasons and arrive here looking to get comfortable in New Chandigarh, trying to make life out of suitcases work, much like PBKS have over the years.

The idea that home is about how quickly you can make a place yours was reinforced for SRH not too long ago, when Mohammed Shami, whom they traded away before this season, returned with Lucknow Super Giants and beat them in Hyderabad with a slower ball he developed just four days ago.

While SRH do have Harshal Patel and Liam Livingstone, both of whom have played for PBKS before, they lack the recency factor that Shami carried. Abhishek Sharma is the closest they come to that sense of familiarity. Born in Amritsar and brought up in Punjab cricket, this part of the world must feel far more familiar to him than most of the PBKS players. And he has made a habit of doing well against this opposition, with an average of over 52 and strike-rate just under 200.

For SRH, a lot will depend on how Abhishek goes at the top because without Pat Cummins, and without the same freakish frequency with which Travishek delivered the last couple of years, SRH have looked a bit lost. They arrive in New Chandigarh chasing two points and carrying happy memories, but with this home venue still up for grabs, PBKS have their own ground to reclaim.

What to expect: The surface here is usually well rolled and slightly dry. In the only game at this venue this season, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill said it "never looked like a 210-220 wicket" and added that hitting down the ground became harder as the ball got older. Dew will play no part in a day game, so the captain winning the toss could look to bat first.

Tactics & Matchups: Arshdeep Singh's form will be a bit concerning for PBKS. The left-arm seamer has picked just five Powerplay wickets in 15 games in 2026 and is averaging 57.60. And he is yet to pick a wicket in IPL 2026, having conceded 99 runs in the 10 overs he's bowled. But that said, he has a good head-to-head record against Travis Head, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen.

Injuries/Unavailability: Pat Cummins has flown back home for scans and is expected to be available only for the "back half" of IPL. Brydon Carse has missed the start of the season with a hand injury sustained in the nets but has been improving slowly.

- SRH have chased down 200-plus in each of their last two meetings against PBKS, with Abhishek at the centre of both. A 66 off 28 in 2024 and a 141 off 55 in 2025, the opener was Player-of-the-Match in both games, the latter made memorable when he pulled out a chit that read, "THIS ONE IS FOR ORANGE ARMY!"

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