IPL 2021, SRH v KKR: 3 reasons why Kolkata Knight Riders will win
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chennai, looking to have a good start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. Though KKR were dismantled by the Mumbai Indians in their season opener last year, they came back strongly against SRH to register their first win.
SRH themselves will be on a high after their middling 2020 season somehow picked up towards the end, resulting in a third-place finish. Their batting order underwent significant reshuffles, but the final iteration - that with Wriddhiman Saha opening and Jason Holder as the all-rounder - could be the one they bank on for this season.
What could be the difference between the two sides is the way their auction strategy panned out. Despite major deficits in their middle order, SRH only added the under-fire Kedar Jadhav, banking on the Maharashtra batsman to come good this season when needed. On the other hand, KKR made a sweep of smart buys, procuring backups for the likes of Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
Here are three reasons why KKR will trump SRH to the two points in Sunday's IPL encounter.
#3 KKR's middle-order muscle
KKR possess one of the most enviable middle-orders in the tournament, with any one of Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik sufficient for piling on the runs against the opposition. The addition of Shakib Al Hasan and Karun Nair adds even more options to an already imposing line-up, and with Pat Cummins striking his maiden fifty last season, they can simply out-bat most oppositions.
While SRH have quality bowlers of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and Rashid Khan, the batsmen mentioned above have different skillsets. If Eoin Morgan can come close to his six-hitting rampage against Rashid at the ICC ODI World Cup in 2019, even the experienced bowlers can fall apart.
#2 Large number of bowling options for KKR
The typical XI that KKR fielded last season had Pat Cummins batting at No. 7. With one of Shakib and Sunil Narine batting in the top six, KKR have up to seven established bowlers at their disposal, along with the part-time off-spin of Nitish Rana whenever needed.
The fact that Prasidh Krishna leveled up with a strong international debut against England means KKR's existing bowling line-up might perform better. Even if one of the Indian pacers has an off day, there is enough pace and spin to put pressure onto SRH's top order and expose their weaker batsmen.
#1 SRH's fragility against spin
Manish Pandey's fluctuating form aside, all of SRH's top four are usually on song when the ball comes onto the bat at a good pace. The Chepauk pitch appears to be one that favours spin while being low on bounce, making it ideal for KKR's spin battery to control the game.
David Warner is a slow starter against spin, while Jonny Bairstow tends to get into a tangle against spin bowling as well. Wriddhiman Saha is at his most effective against pace in the powerplay, after which he can be vulnerable. With the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and possibly Kuldeep Yadav playing, SRH could be tied up against spin once again.