SRH vs KKR IPL 2021 Preview: Clash of top bowlers with Rashid, Bhuvi, Narine and Cummins in action

With both teams in possession of some fine bowlers, this is likely to be a low-scoring match.

Live Scores and Stats - Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 3

KKR try to settle down

Amid a lot of turbulence, Dinesh Karthik handed over the captaincy of KKR midway to Eoin Morgan in the last season. Kolkata have all the talent in the world to ace this season of the IPL but it will be how the captain and the management gels together and handles their players. 

This is what will determine KKR's returns in IPL 2021 after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last season.

SRH confident after fruitful IPL 2020

After a mediocre start, Sunrisers Hyderabad made the most of their resources in IPL 2020 and made it to Qualifier 2 by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator.

The last match between Hyderabad and Kolkata went right down to the wire with KKR winning it in the Super Over.

Morgan, Karthik and Russell - KKR's powerful middle order

Shubman Gill, after having made his debut for India and playing a couple of eye-catching knocks in international cricket, will open the batting for KKR. The team has Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell in the middle order with flexible batting positions.

It will be interesting to see whether Kolkata persist with their experiment of Sunil Narine as an opener or they have had enough of it. Aussie quick Pat Cummins will not only lead the KKR bowling pack but will have to mentor Indian young guns Shivam Mavi and Prasidh Krishna. Varun Chakravarthy will partner Narine in KKR's spin attack.

Saha to partner Warner at the top

Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope that David Warner's groin niggle does not hamper him that much in the field or with quick singles. Warner will open the batting with Wriddhiman Saha while Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar will form SRH's middle order.

The team also has the likes of Priyam Garg and Kedar Jadhav, but with Shankar contributing with the ball as well, he is expected to get the nod.

Rashid, Bhuvi hold the key

SRH would be over the moon with the form and fitness of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and if the medium pacer can extend his successful run, Hyderabad can be serious contenders for the title, especially now that they have another gun death bowler in T Natarajan.

Rashid Khan continues to be the trump card for Sunrisers Hyderabad and is almost impossible to get away in the middle overs. Sandeep Sharma and Jason Holder round off the Hyderabad bowling attack.

Predictions

Top Batsman - Runs Scored - David Warner (SRH), Dinesh Karthik (KKR)

Top Bowler - Wickets Taken - Rashid Khan (SRH), Pat Cummins (KKR)

Most Sixes - Manish Pandey (SRH), Andre Russell (KKR)

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Here are the predicted playing XIs:

Sunrisers Hyderabad – David Warner (C), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shahbaz Nadem/Sandeep Sharma & T Natarajan. 

Kolkata Knight Riders – Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy & Prasidh Krishna.

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