One of these two teams will surely open their account in the points table as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) square off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the eighth match of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
While SRH lost their first game of the season against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated KKR, led by Dinesh Karthik in their season opener.
Sandeep Warrior and Nikhil Naik just seem to be below the minimum acceptable level and did not seem to be good enough to make the playing eleven at all.
Sunil Narine, perhaps the most valuable player in T20 cricket, is going to open the batting for KKR. He is going to be peppered with short-pitched deliveries at pace every single time he comes out to bat. Is he good enough to cope? We think he might struggle on the bigger grounds in the UAE. Dinesh Karthik is batting far too high at number four and should go to back to playing the role of the finisher, a role he has been very successful at. Shubman Gill, Eoin Morgan, and Andre Russell make this KKR batting very dangerous, however, and that is where most of the runs must come from.
The bowling performance for KKR was abysmal against the Mumbai Indians. Sandeep Warrior will be targeted by every single team if he plays. We think he might be replaced by Kamlesh Nagarkoti or Prasidh Krishna in this next match. Pat Cummins had a very poor game as well, giving away 49 in three overs. You expect him to come back strongly, though, as he has the pace and pedigree. Shivam Mavi was very impressive but is inexperienced and could be put under pressure. Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Kuldeep Yadav have to come up with ways of keeping Bairstow and Warner quiet otherwise it will be tough for KKR.
SRH has a few questions to answer as well. The first question is going to be finding a replacement for Mitchell Marsh. Can they fit in Kane Williamson (if he is fit) to try and bolster the batting and take some pressure off of the openers? They could but that would leave the bowling quite weak. Mohammad Nabi could be one of the players that fills-in the all-rounder role and contribute in the middle order as well.
Perhaps most troublingly, the bowling attack that made SRH so difficult to beat is looking pedestrian. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma are not going to find too much help from the UAE surfaces. T Natrajan and Vijay Shankar are strictly average as well. Rashid Khan is the world-class bowler in this lineup but he is not going to too much help from the surface either.
Everything seems to ride on Jonny Bairstow and David Warner to win matches for SRH.
Weather Forecast
The weather in Abu Dhabi will be hot and dry. The maximum temperature will be 37 degrees while the minimum will be 28 degrees. The humidity level will be more than 75 percent and that means dew will play a big factor in the match.
Pitch Report
Abu Dhabi has seen scores in the range of 160 to 200 in the couple of IPL games that have been played. With the match being played on a different surface, the pitch is expected to be on the slower side assisting spinners but there will be help for the pacers at the start. The lengths will be crucial in the Abu Dhabi wicket.
Toss Prediction
In today's match, the pitch is expected to be helpful for the spinner. 'Dew factor' will also impact during the second innings and despite the recent losses while chasing, captains who win the toss should look to bowl first.
Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 17
Kolkata Knight Riders: 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 7
Approaching Milestones:
Andre Russell needs 89 runs to complete 1500 IPL runs.
Siddarth Kaul needs 1 wicket to complete 50 IPL wickets.
Sunil Narine needs 5 sixes to complete 50 IPL sixes.
Sandeep Sharma needs 5 wickets to complete 100 IPL wickets
Likely XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik (capt, wk), Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Nikhil Naik/Rahul Tripathi, Pat
Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Jonny Bairstow (wk), David Warner (capt), Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Kane Williamson/Mohammad Nabi, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma,
Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan/Khaleel Ahmed
Players to Watch Out For:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Jonny Bairstow, David Warner, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Nabi
Match Odds:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1.80
Kolkata Knight Riders: 2.00
SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders
IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 4.5
Delhi Capitals - 5.5
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 6.5
Chennai Super Kings - 7.5
Kings XI Punjab - 8
Rajasthan Royals - 8
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 8.5
Kolkata Knight Riders - 9
Match Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, UAE
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP
