It is time for the battle between two sides who have lost their opening matches this year. Yes! we’re talking about the Kolkata Knight Riders side led by Dinesh Karthik and the Sunrisers Hyderabad side led by David Warner. Both teams are regarded as underdogs but haven’t yet got off the mark this year.
If we look at the overall record in the IPL of both sides, KKR have won the title twice while SRH have won it once in 2016.
Both sides consist of the best players to have ever featured in the history of T20 cricket. From David Warner to Andre Russell to Rashid Khan its an ultimate battle between the best in the business. Though all these players are yet to click in this year’s IPL, we can surely expect them to perform in the upcoming match as we all know how promising these players are in T20 Cricket.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 key players to watch out for in KKR vs SRH game:
1. Shivam Mavi
The youngster is one of the most talked pace bowlers in the KKR setup along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Well, the other day it was a toss-up between Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti for the Kolkata Knight Riders’ match against Mumbai Indians. Getting a nod ahead, Mavi did well bowling the opening and death overs.
At the beginning of the match, he dismissed Quinton de Kock for a low score and then also went onto pick the wicket of the well-set Rohit Sharma in the end.
Since he possesses quite a few variations, he’s a valuable asset for the KKR side this year and that day won’t be far when we see Shivam Mavi opening the bowling for India.
2. Johnny Bairstow
The wicket-keeper batsmen from England so far has looked in good nick in this season. During the SRH’s first match against RCB, he scored 61 off 43 balls and almost won his side the game. The RCB dugout looked nervous when Johnny Bairstow was batting as he was striking and taking down the RCB bowlers with so much ease.
Also Read: IPL 2020: Match 8- Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad- Fantasy Tips & Predicted XI
Not to forget his 2019 campaign for the Sunrisers Hyderabad where he scored a mammoth 445 runs at an average of 55 which included 2 fifties and 1 hundred. Well, if a batsman with so much calibre has kicked started things this year then he surely should be kept a close eye for the rest of the tournament.
3. Shubman Gill
Those who see him bat they rate him as the next big thing of Indian cricket. Shubman Gill is a potential great in the making who will be valuable for KKR this season. Gill has so far hasn’t found a permanent batting position for himself in the team but he is at his best when he bats as an opener.
The 20-year-old has so far played 27 IPL matches in which he has scored 499 runs at a strike rate of 133. Gill will be looking to stamp his authority in IPL 2020 and become a standout batsman for KKR this season. As a result, he will certainly be among the 5 players to watch out for in the KKR vs SRH game.
4. Andre Russell
Russell Muscle hasn’t really put the weight behind his performance in the match against Mumbai Indians. What looked like an ideal situation for someone like Andre Russell the other day, he failed to finish off the match for KKR the other day. But as we know when Andre Russell takes a strike in a T20 match it is one of the scariest sights for any opposition time.
The big man from Jamaica, a colossal T20 player that has entertained everyone in his IPL career. Obviously, a failure in one match cannot be used to judge his calibre as we all know on any given day Andre Russell can literally destroy his opposition with his explosive batting.
5. Rashid Khan
The Afghan boy didn’t really have a great outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game. As AB de Villiers took on the leg spinner which is why he failed to pick up a single wicket in that match.
But as we know, many consider the Afghanistan boy as one of the best leg spinners of his generation since he has put up brilliant match performances in the past. In fact in the IPL, he has been one of SRH’s key players since last 2- 3 years.
Though he’s had a shaky start to the IPL this season, we expect him to gel in his usual best very soon as Rashid Khan is one bowler who’ll always be in the pick of wickets going forward in the season.