Navi Mumbai, Apr 17 (IANS): Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Punjab Kings minus of regular captain Mayank Agarwal in IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.

After winning the toss, Williamson confirmed that Hyderabad's playing eleven is unchanged from their win over Kolkata Knight Riders. "It's (bowling first) something we've done recently, we need to just play according to our plans. The wicket will hold up for the entire game, just need to make those small improvements, the signs are good, and need to adjust to the conditions early."

Punjab's stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan informed that Agarwal sustained a toe injury in practice session on Saturday and will not play in the match against Hyderabad. The left-handed opener added that Prabhsimran Singh replaces an injured Agarwal in the playing eleven. It is the first time Dhawan will be leading Punjab Kings in the IPL.

Asked about the improvements Punjab would seek in their first afternoon match of the season, Dhawan pointed towards bowling. "We are performing well without depending on individuals -- need to continue playing well as a unit, the bowling can get better, we're working on it. The team is new and we're taking time to settle. The toss could be an advantage, it's a bit sticky, the ball could turn, but if we put up a good total, we can put them under pressure."

Playing XIs

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh and Vaibhav Arora.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (captain), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), Shashank Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik and Thangarasu Natarajan.