Hyderabad may have been a little late to join the party but a hat-trick of victories has put them on a strong platform in the IPL. On Sunday they meet Punjab Kings, who have been inconsistent thus far, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The Sunrisers’ pace attack has been impressive and the way their batters clicked against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday was praiseworthy. Their turnaround has been spectacular after the disappointment of two early defeats.

Led by T. Natarajan, who’s been equally good with the new ball and at the death, the Sunrisers attack has been lethal. Marco Jansen has been a revelation, troubling the best of batters with his variations. Add to it the experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the sensational Umran Malik and you can realise why the attack has gelled well.

However, Sunday’s match will be played in the afternoon and the absence of a quality spinner could be visible. Washington Sundar’s injury has forced them to lose out on an all-rounder.

Umran, the 22-year-old from Srinagar, has consistently bowled at 145 to 150kmph in this IPL. He bowled the fastest delivery in IPL history — 153.1 kmph, against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.

Head coach Tom Moody is not worried about his propensity to give away runs, saying “there is going to be a higher economy” due to his style of bowling.

“When you are bowling 150kmph in this format, you don’t expect you are not going to go for runs. But it’s not like he is getting smashed down the ground or through the covers,” Moody said. “So you have got to accept his style of bowling.”

How the Sunrisers attack fares against Punjab’s power-hitters such as Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone could decide the issue. Punjab have notched up

180-plus totals in four of their five games.