The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will host the eighth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 tournament between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). Both the franchises have lost their opener matches and would eye to win this match.
Kolkata Knight Riders lost its opening game of a season for the first time since 2013 when Mumbai Indians (MI) beat them on Wednesday (September 23). Their bowlers Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, expect Shivam Mavi, were beaten badly by Rohit Sharma and co.
In the upcoming match against SRH, Dinesh Karthik-led KKR will not do too many changes in the playing XI that played against MI. But they will need to improve their strategy against the 2016 IPL winner.
KKR Predicted XI against SRH:
1. Shubman Gill:
KKR had gone with Sunil Narine and Shubman Gill as their opening pair against Mumbai Indians. Although the duo could not set up a partnership in that match, they can give a decent start to the team against SRH. Shubman Gill, in last season, had batted at no.3 position, but this season the youngster has been given the opener’s role. The captain Dinesh Karthik will back him after seeing his potential.
2. Sunil Narine:
Sunil Narine, who had a good outing in the CPL 2020, didn’t stand on the team’s hope in the last match with his bat. He lost his wicket early although he had impressed with his bowling. He will open the innings in the coming match as well.
3. Nitish Rana:
Nitish Rana had hit powerful shots against MI to show his potential. He had also stitched up a partnership with Karthik when KKR lost its quick wickets of the openers. He is a vital cog for the KKR in the playing XI and will play a crucial role in leading them to victory. The youngster had scored 24 off 18 balls, striking two boundaries and two maximums in the last match.
4. Dinesh Karthik
Cricket expert had criticized Dinesh Karthik‘s captaincy against MI after losing the game by 49 runs. He will look up to the win the next game to bring confidence in the squad. With the bat, he scored 30 runs against Mumbai Indians and looked in form.
5. Eoin Morgan:
Eoin Morgan is the new addition in the KKR squad. He will form the crux of the batting line up. The England captain already had a successful summer season and is expected to deliver the same in the IPL 2020.
6. Andre Russell
Andre Russell, who is the core of the team, will get the place at no.6, in the KKR predicted XI, when the team needs him to accelerate innings in the death over. His all-round performance has a significant impact on the result of the Kolkata team. In the last match, Russell didn’t have a good outing either with the bat or the ball as the team also faced defeat.
7. Rinku Singh
KKR had gone with Nikhil Naik in the playing XI against Mumbai Indians, but he lost his wicket after scoring one run. He can be replaced with Rinku Singh because Rinku had a great domestic season for Uttar Pradesh in 2019, and he will be eager to repeat the same in IPL. Therefore, he gets a place in our KKR predicted XI.
8.Pat Cummins:
Pat Cummins proved to be an expensive bowler as Rohit Sharma struck big boundaries in his overs. In three overs, he leaked 49 runs and picked even one wicket. He would look to make a strong comeback against SRH.
9. Kuldeep Yadav:
Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm chinaman bowler, is struggling to pick wickets since last year. In the match against MI, Rohit might have downgrade his morale with his excellent pull shots off his bowls. Kuldeep could not give a breakthrough to the team in his four-over quota. But he can be lethal in the coming matches as the conditions favour his spin bowling.
10. Prasidh Krishna:
The pacer Prasidh Krishna might replace Sandeep Warrier in KKR’s XI after the latter proved to be expensive with the bowl. He was hit for consecutive fours by Suryakumar Yadav. At the economy rate of 11.33, he bowled three overs which costed the team. In our KKR’s predicted XI, Krishna will play against SRH.
11. Shivam Mavi:
The young talent Shivam Mavi amazed the fans and cricket experts with his pace against MI. He was the only economical bowler for KKR in that match. In his four overs, he picked two prized wickets of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma. So, he will surely be in the KKR’s playing XI against SRH.