Both Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) will have an opportunity to open their account in Dream 11 IPL 2020. While David Warner led SRH lost from a position they should have ideally won, Dinesh Karthik and his men were completely outplayed by an all-round MI side.
KKR’s batting order was a debate, especially a move to send their skipper DK at no.3.There was no real momentum by the openers when chasing a big score and it was too much, too late for the likes of Morgan, Russell to make a match out of it. In the bowling front, Pat Cummins was a big let down, and Narine didn’t find much success either.
SRH required 43 off 5 overs with 8 wickets in hand and Jonny Bairstow still in the middle. But, they lost the plot after the England batsman got out. The injury to their all-rounder Mitchell Marsh didn’t help things either, and he is now set to miss the entire IPL. They might bring in Nabi or Kane Williamson to fill the slot.
Key players from both sides:
Batsman – Jonny Bairstow, David Warner, Shubman Gill, and Eoin Morgan.
The onus of the SRH batting depends massively on their openers Warner and Bairstow. With their middle order looking inexperienced, SRH will want the duo to play deep into the batting innings. Gill will want to put behind disappointing previous games’ performance and give a good start for KKR. They will also bank on Morgan come early in the order and provide some impetus to the score.
All Rounders – Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Mohammad Nabi, and Vijay Shankar.
The KKR pair of Russell and Narine was not at their best in KKR’s opening game against MI as they didn’t give in a dominating performance that is usually expected out of them. Nabi might get some game time with an unfortunate injury to Mitchell Marsh and be a crucial member in the middle order. Vijay Shankar will want to prove his worth as an all-rounder.
Bowlers – Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, and Shivam Mavi.
Pat Cummins and Mavi had delivered contrasting performances with the ball with Cummins going for plenty, and Mavi ended up at the best bowler for the Knight Riders. But Cummins came back with a batting onslaught of his own. Similarly, Rashid and Bhuvneshwar did well in restricting the batsman but didn’t pick up any wickets they would look upon.
Battles to look forward
- Pat Cummins vs David Warner
- Sunil Narine vs Jonny Bairstow
- Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell
Openers of SRH may face a stiff challenge from the likes of Pat Cummins and Sunil Narine in this game when they come head to head. The KKR duo will want to provide much more improved performance on the bowling front. Rashid and Bhuvi are the available weapons to challenge Andre Russell and Eoin Morgan.
Head to Head between KKR and SRH:
- Matches Played: 17
- KKR Won: 10
- SRH won: 7
Match conditions
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Date & Timings: September 26, 2020, at 7.30 PM IST.
Weather: Clear with the temperature around 33-34 C.
Pitch: Likely to be on the slower side with possible due later on.
