Probable XI –
Sunrisers Hyderabad –
David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma
Kolkata Knight Riders –
Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C) Dinesh Karthik, Shakib al Hasan/Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy/Harbhajan Singh
Small League Combination 1 –
1. Jonny Bairstow(VC)
2. David Warner(C)
3. Kane Williamson
4. Nitish Rana
5. Priyam Garg
6. Shubman Gill
7. Shakib Al Hasan
8. Andre Russell
9. Prasidh Krishna
10. Rashid Khan
11. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
– Warner and Bairstow looks safest C VC picks considering their H2H averages of 45 & 53 respectively.
– Williamson might be a good punt if Manish departs early as he has scored runs at an average of 27 in 8 H2H games.
– Nitish Rana & Gill will be good picks as they have done well against the opponent in more than 5 games.
– Expecting good all round performances from both Shakib and Russell as they’re expected to bat at 4-5 down & bowl a couple of overs too.
– Rashid Khan might be a crucial pick at this spin favoured surface especially while bowling second.
– Bhuvneshwar will be a must pick as he has bagged 27 Wkts at an average of just 21 in 21 H2H matches.
– Taking punt on Prasidh Krishna as he looked in fine touch during the recently concluded series against England.
Small League Combination 2 –
1. Dinesh Karthik
2. Manish Pandey
3. David Warner
4. Eoin Morgan(VC)
5. Kane Williamson(C)
6. Shubman Gill
7. Andre Russell
8. Vijay Shankar
9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
10. Pat Cummins
11. Kamlesh Nagarkoti
– Morgan & Williamson might be good punt C VCs as they can score big by batting at two down for the respective teams if any of the opening batter departs early.
– Taking punt on Manish as he can score decent runs at one down especially while batting first.
– Vijay Shankar can give decent fantasy points as he’s expected to bat at three down & bowl a couple of overs too.
– Dinesh Karthik might be another decent punt if 1-2 top order batters from Kolkata departs early.
– Expecting a couple of wickets from Cummins as he will bowl in death overs.
Grand League Combination –
1. Dinesh Karthik
2. Eoin Morgan
3. Manish Pandey
4. Kane Williamson
5. Shakib Al Hasan(C)
6. Andre Russell
7. Vijay Shankar
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
9. Pat Cummins
10. Rashid Khan(VC)
11. Varun Chakravarthy
– Shakib might be a good captain in GL as he’s expected to bat at middle order and bowl a couple of overs at this spin favored pitch.
– Rashid can score quick 20-30 runs at down the order and take a couple of wickets in his four overs spell.
– Dropped both Warner & Bairstow as they might not score big considering the slow surface at Chennai.
– Expecting a couple of wickets from Varun as he has already done well against the opponent.
– Vijay Shankar and Karthik can play decent knocks at three down for respective teams if top order doesn’t do well.