IPL 2020, KKR vs SRH Preview: Hurt Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad out to address batting woes

Besides tasting defeats in their IPL 2020 opener, the one pattern common between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders was failure with the bat. Much worse for Sunrisers, who endured an alarming batting collapse, losing eight wickets for 32 runs. From 122/2, they were bowled out for 153, their batsmen falling like ninepins chasing a not so stiff total.

The top three SRH batsmen combined to score 101 runs, while those from No. 4 to 11 could manage only 37 together. Since Kane Williamson is out due to injury, the middle order batting for SRH appears weak and inexperienced. Getting a much better performance out of his batsmen would be key for David Warner when Sunrisers take on KKR.

The Knight Riders on the other hand, represented the perfect example of what happens when players are kept away from the game. Pat Cummins, the most expensive foreign buy in the history of the Indian Premier League conceded almost 50 in three overs. While Dinesh Karthik, the captain, stressed not to read too much into the Australia quick’s performance, it isn’t something that could be slipped underneath the table. With the bat, Karthik, Nitish Rana got starts and being able to convert such starts is a box that requires a tick earliest.

In their previous five encounters, the Sunrisers have a slight 3-2 lead over KKR, and there’s nothing to pick as far as team record goes either. Both teams have lost three of their previous five IPL matches with SRH losing their last three games in a row.

What: IPL 2020 Match 8, Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders

When: Saturday, September 26, 2020

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Team News

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Even though SRH got Jason Holder as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh, it is likely that the all-rounder has to wait for his turn. SRH may opt for Mohammad Nabi with his tidy hitting skills and incisive bowling. Another change expected is that of Khaleel Ahmed in place of T Natarajan, although we wouldn’t count on it.

Probable XI: 1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Priyam Garg, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Abhishek Sharma, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 T Natarajan/Khaleel Ahmed

Kolkata Knight Riders: Despite not firing, KKR are unlikely to change their top order. Karthik is known to give his players a longer rope and like he said, not much should be read into KKR’s performance in their first match.

Probable XI: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Dinesh Karthik, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Nikhil Naik, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Shivam Mavi, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Sandeep Warrier

Stats and Trivia –

– Sandeep Sharma needs 5 more wickets to complete 100 IPL wickets.

– Pat Cummins is 3 wickets away from completing 100 wickets in T20s.

– Eoin Morgan is five sixes away from completing 300 sixes in T20s.

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