Squads –
SRH –
David Warner (Captain,) Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mitchell Marsh, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, Jason Holder, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Yadav, Mujeeb ur Rahman
KKR –
Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, , Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh
Team News –
SRH –
– Sunrisers will begin their 2021 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders this year. SRH has always been an consistent side and made to the playoffs last season but were not able to make into the mega finals.
– They have added Jason Roy as an replacement of Mitchell Marsh this year along with Mujeeb ur Rehman in the Auction.
– Team’s likely 4 foreign players will be David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Kane Williamson/Jason Holder.
– David Warner and Jonny Bairstow will open the innings. Warner as always has been very consistent last year also scoring 500+ runs. His counterpart Bairstow is in red hot form scoring 219 runs in just 3 ODIs against India.
– Manish Pandey will bat at 1 down. Pandey was brilliant last last season scoring 400+ runs but was at a slow SR.
– Kane Williamson will bat at 2 down followed by Vijay Shankar at 5. Kane needs no introduction and always plays an important role in that middle order. Vijay Shankar will also contribute through bowl.
– Abdul Samad and Priyam Garg will handle the lower middle order. Samad is known for his aggressive hitting and can also bowl some leg spin.
– Rashid Khan will be important part of the team as he will be the only lead spinner.
– Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and Sandeep Sharma will be leading the pace attack.
KKR –
– Kolkata Knight Riders always had an upper hand over the Sunrisers. They have a 12-7 h2h record when it comes to SRH also defeating them twice last season.
– KKR has roped in Shakib Al Hasan this season along with Allrounder Ben Cutting.
– Team’s likely foreign players will be Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Lochie Ferguson/Shakib Al Hasan.
– Shubham Gill and Rahul Tripathi will open the Innings. Both are youngster and will be important for team’s success this year especially Gill after his heroics in Australia.
– Nitish Rana will bat at 1 down. Rana has always been a attacking option but played just 1 50+ inning last season and overall had a poor tournament.
– Shakib al Hasan if plays will bat at 1 down shifting Rana to 2 down.
– Captain Morgan will bat at 2 down followed by Dinesh Karthik. Morgan needs no introduction and will be a game changer in this KKR lineup. DK looked good in the practice game where he scored 90 odd runs. DK will keep the Wickets.
– Andre Russell will bat next and will play the role he loves to. Russell will also bowl. He bowled in death last season.
– Varun Chakravarthy and Shakib Al Hasan will lead the spin section.
– Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Andre Russell and Lochie Ferguson (if plays) will lead the pace attack.
Probable XI –
SRH –
David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson/Jason Holder, Vijay Shankar, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma
KKR –
Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Shakib-Al-Hasan/Lochie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
Pitch Report –
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The MA Chidambaram stadium has always been a spin friendly Wickets and generally scores below 150 are encountered here.
H2H overall : 19
KKR Won : 12
SRH Won : 7
Average Score : 160
Team Blueprint –
WK –
Jonny Bairstow( Open, RHB, 345 runs in 11 innings last year with a SR of 127, 219 runs in 3 innings in ODI seried, red hot form, Must have)
W Saha( Open, RHB + wk, 214 runs in just 4 innings last season, can get a game to balance the team in place of Williamson)
Dinesh Karthik( Middle order, RHB + wk, 93 in practice game, poor Average of 16 against SRH )
BAT –
David Warner( Open, LHB, no intro needed, 5254 IPL runs most by a foreign player in IPL, 912 runs in 23 Innings a brilliant Average of 46 against KKR, Must have)
Eoin Morgan( 2 down, LHB, 171 runs in 6 innings against SRH, 418 runs last season for KKR, SR of 138 last season, Must have)
Manish Pandey( 1 down, RHB, 425 runs last season with a SR of 127, 195 runs in 11 Innings with an poor Average of 22 against KKR )
Kane Williamson( 2 down, RHB, on intro needed, loads if experience, 197 runs in 8 innings against KKR, Must )
Shubham Gill( Open, Highest scorer of team last season with 440 runs, Sr was slightly on the lower side with 117, 160 runs in 7 games against SRH)
Nitish Rana( 1/2down, LHB, had a decent last season with 352 runs at a SR of 138)
Rahul Tripathi( Open, RHB, very attacking, 232 runs in 11 innings last season)
Abdul Samad( Middle order, known for his power hitting + can also bowl leg spin, 491 t20 runs at a SR of 146, 140 runs in 5 games in Syed Mushtaq trophy)
ALL –
Andre Russell( Middle order, RHB + medium fast, can bowl in death, overall Batting SR of 182 in IPL including 129 6s, Must have)
Shakib Al Hasan(Slow left arm + LHB, 1/2 down, very experienced, 5080 Runs + 360 Wickets in T20 cricket, was out from Cricket for almost 2 years )
Sunil Narine( Off spin, mystery bowler, can also open but is unlikely, had a poor season last year with just 5 Wickets)
Jason Holder( Right Arm Fast, always been very economical, 14 Wickets in 7 games last season, Must have if plays)
M Nabi( Middle order, RHB + Off spin, 273 t20 Wickets + a Bat SR of 143, one of the best t20 Allrounders but will not play due to full foreign slots )
Ben Cutting( Lowet middle order, RHB + Medium pacer, 2368 runs + 128 t20 Wickets, Batting SR of 149 , Must try if gets a game )
Vijay Shankar( 3 down, RHB + Right Arm medium, 1367 t20 runs, 71 runs + 1w in 5 Innings against KKR)
BOWL –
Rashid Khan(Leggie, no intro needed, #1 t20 bowler in world cricket, 20 Wickets last season, 75 Wickets in IPL overall)
B Kumar( Right Arm medium fast, death overs specialist, didn’t played last season due to injury, 6 Wickets in ODI + 4 Wickets in T20 Series against England, Must have)
T Natarajan( Left arm fast medium, recognized as a death bowler, bowls some deadly Yorkers, 16 Wickets last season, Must have)
Pat Cummins(Right Arm Fast, can also bat, world class bowler, will also bowl in death, just 12 Wickets in 14 games last season)
Lochie Ferguson( Right Arm Fast, hit the deck bowler, can easily bowl upto 150ks, 6 Wickets in just 4 games last season, 63 t20 Wickets for him )
Sandeep Sharma( Right Arm medium, known for his swing early on the Innings, 14 Wickets last season with an economy under 8)
Prasidh Krishna( Right Arm Fast, can bowl upto 145ks, was brilliant taking 6 Wickets in 3 games in ODI series, Must have)
Varun Chakravarthy( Off spin, mystery bowler, had a brilliant last season with 17 Wickets at an eco of 6.85, Must have)
Harbhajan Singh( Off spin, very experienced, 232 t20 Wickets, 150 IPL Wickets on his name, must try if plays )
Khaleel Ahmed( Left arm medium fast, 8 Wickets last season, economy was slightly high in range of 9, can be crusial pick according to credits if plays )
Shivam Mavi( Right Arm fast medium, had excellent last season with 9 Wickets in 8 games, very good at 8cr)
C/VC –
SRH –
David Warner
Jonny Bairstow
Kane Williamson
Rashid Khan
KKR –
Andre Russell
Eoin Morgan
Shubham Gill
Shakib Al Hasan