The Qualifier 1 at Ahmedabad has got a feeling of great grandeur. Two of the top sides in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) going up against each other is mouth-watering stuff. This game will also see a clash between two of the most expensive players in the history of IPL – Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Two icons of Australian cricket.
Cummins has been outstanding, not just in picking 15 wickets so far but also in the way he has led the side. There was a little bit of uncertainty regarding his captaincy in this format of the game as he had not played this role enough previously. But Cummins has emerged as a brilliant leader even in T20s, and in one of the toughest leagues in the world.
Mitchell Starc is now beginning to find form. He is a big-match player and has got one three-fer and four-fer already in the tournament. He may not have been at his best so far but throw the bad form out of the window now as playoffs are a different game altogether and a big match player like Starc knows how to win these. Same for Cummins. I feel these two players will play a central role for their respective teams in the first qualifier.
I have been hugely impressed with KKR and they have clearly been the standout side this season. Their NRR is extraordinary. They have found different players rising to the occasion and they have registered some authoritative wins.
The only question mark I can see in their overall game is whether they can deliver a win when their top-order does not shine. Phil Salt and Sunil Narine’s runs at the top are a big reason behind KKR’s success this season. Salt has left for national duty and Rahmanullah Gurbaz is going to open the innings with Narine. It would be interesting to see how KKR fare with a different opening pair at this stage. And what happens if they do not do well.
Gurbaz has an ample amount of IPL experience behind him and is a solid opener in this format. Both KKR and Gurbaz would have liked it if he got to play the last match vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) which got washed out. Some runs could have done wonders to Gurbaz’s confidence before the playoffs.
The other thing that has impressed me about KKR is not just their numbers but the way they got the numbers. Looking at their game from close quarters while working in the IPL, I can say they have been very smart and clever throughout the tournament.
KKR always found a way to get to a good score in conditions which were not always straightforward. They have adapted to the conditions better than most of the sides.
Venkatesh Iyer plays a huge role in this team. He is not someone who plays with a strike rate of over 200. But he is a clever player, adapts to the conditions, reads the game well and takes the side to a competitive total. KKR have got a nice balance of power at the top and experience in the middle. They also have one of the best spin attacks in the competition in the form of Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy. They are good readers of the batters’ movement and bowl accordingly. They know how to bowl in different situations.
We know Andre Rusell is going to get runs, play the match-winning knocks but for me one of the big differences this year at KKR has been how he has chipped in with wickets. Russell has again become a valuable all-rounder for KKR after his form went down in the last couple of seasons. Not to forget, there is Harshit who perhaps has been overshadowed by bigger names. But he too has done a great job.
My only concern with KKR is that their last two games of the competition got washed out, first against Gujarat and then against Rajasthan. They have been a top side throughout but have not played a huge amount of cricket recently. The good thing about this will be that they will be fresh and raring to go while the flip side is that there could be sudden lack of form and rhythm as you were used to playing more consistently.
Sunrisers, to me, has been the most fun side to watch. I reckon that SRH would be a fun dressing room to be a part of because of the way they play. They look to enjoy themselves whenever they are in the park. This attitude and mindset are the reason why SRH have have played aggressive cricket consistently as a sense of fearlessness also takes over when you are enjoying the game.
There is a bit of symmetry between these sides in the top order. Narine and Salt have done a great job at the top and Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma have done the same for Sunrisers.
The game against Punjab saw a big moment in the game, from SRH’s perspective, after Head was gone on the first ball. The fact that they chased down a target of over 200 despite Head getting out early must have given the dressing room a sense of self-belief. To win without the contribution of your usual match-winners must give the side a huge lift.
Heinrich Klaasen is all class. He has been short of runs of late, but he raised his game in the last match, scoring 42 off 26 balls.
Abhishek has been very impressive throughout the tournament. He will play a huge role in this upcoming clash. He has been hitting the balls with power and timing. He has been good at playing all different lengths. The bowlers are scratching their heads thinking where they bowl to him. You bowl short, you get hit. You get full, you get hit. You bowl length, you get hit. Abhishek has got command over all different lengths. He can hit them all for six and boundaries.
With the ball, Bhuvneshwar has been outstanding in the powerplay. His wrist and seam position has been perfect. Cummins has adapted to different bowling roles pretty well. He has opened bowling at times but has majorly bowled in the middle overs. And what a player Nitish Reddy has been. It is easy to focus on just the big names at SRH and forget Reddy. But the truth is that he has made significant contributions when it has mattered the most.
It is a big ask for someone like Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to come into the side in the last couple of games and straightaway start delivering the goods. SRH have looked a light in the spin
department and while we don’t know what the conditions will be like, the young leggie may have a pivotal role to play in the remaining games.
These are two fantastic sides to watch, and it is expected to be a close game. My gut feeling says that SRH may have the last laugh on Tuesday night. My only concern with them is that if they find themselves at 30 for 3 inside the powerplay, can they make a fightback from there. KKR, on the other hand, have been in these situations before in the tournament and have done a good job to recover from there. How SRH deal with this situation will be crucial for them.
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