Kolkata Knight Riders lock their horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in their second game of IPL 2020. Both the teams are on the back of a loss and will look to make amends to win the game on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders were undone by Mumbai Indians in all the departments. Nothing clicked for Kolkata against Mumbai Indians as they conceded 195 runs while bowling. Also, the team looked vulnerable in batting too as they were ousted for 146 runs. Against consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad, Dinesh Karthik will look to learn from his previous mistakes and win the game.
All 👀 on #KKRvSRH
Few more hours to go! ⏳#KKRHaiTaiyaar #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/ZvoQr7b2hP
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) September 26, 2020
The costliest signing of KKR. Pat Cummins was taken into action by Mumbai Indians batsmen. The bowler looked out of touch but he redeemed with his quickfire batting which helped the team to reduce the deficit. The team management will be eager to see their bowler in his form. The team would like to win the game and gain momentum going forward to the campaign.
Here are the top three players for Kolkata Knight Riders who can make the difference on Saturday against Sunrisers Hyderabad:
#1) Andre Russell
The West Indian all-rounder carries the Kolkata franchise on his shoulders. The team’s win or loss severely depends on Andre Russell‘s show on Saturday. Against Mumbai Indians, the player came down in the batting order and was dismissed by one of the best bowlers across the globe, Jasprit Bumrah.
Against SRH, the all-rounder will look to turn around his game. The player didn’t roll his arms against Mumbai Indians with a reported injury issue. However, his batting gives tremors in bowlers’ hearts. Kolkata Knight Riders will bank on Andre Russell who is one of the top three picks for KKR.
#2) Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine, the West Indian off-spinner bowled well against Mumbai Indians but couldn’t get going in batting. Mumbai Indians’ bowling unit had the perfect plan for the West Indies player and they kept on bowling short pitch deliveries to him. Though it might be the same tactics employed by SRH bowlers, Sunil Narine is a threat if he gets going.
With a weak batting line-up, the removal of David warner, Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey make SRH batting vulnerable. The skipper of KKR will look to exploit the opposition with his star spinner at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
#3) Nitish Rana
Though it seems like a surprising pick from the team which has talent and star players in abundance, Nitish Rana is one of the top three picks who can turn the game on. Nitish Rana has developed himself into one of the best players for the Kolkata Knight Riders with his regular contributions. He has also contributed with the bowl and has picked up the wickets when needed. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad’s strong bowling unit, Nitish Rana will have a big role to play.
The left-handed batsman was the third top scorer for KKR against MI. The player got dismissed as the run rate climbed up. He will look to find the form in the second game of his campaign.