IPL Fantasy 2018, CSK vs SRH, MI vs RR: 5 suggestions to help you score big today
After witnessing a run-filled Saturday, let's see what Sunday has in store for us. Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad travel to Pune to see if they can cause more jitters in Chennai Super Kings's camp. That will be followed by a vital clash featuring Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians with the winner continuing their fight to secure a playoff spot. So what should be the makeup of your team for these two big clashes? Here are some tips:
The Pune surface
It gets tricky right at the start. We have seen CSK post some big scores at this venue but at the same time, we have also seen spin play a vital role here, against Royal Challengers Bangalore recently. Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh had a great outing for CSK against their arch-rivals under the sun in an early kickoff and considering this game will once again be played at 4 PM, the chances of this surface playing slow at the start are quite high.
In that case, the spinners will rule the roost. All four frontline spinners, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan could prove to be very useful.
Obviously, it isn't wise to go in with all four spinners but with Karn Sharma also in contention, things do get complicated. Someone like Siddarth Kaul will also enjoy bowling on such a surface and hence you need to pick bowlers who make good use of slower conditions.
Say NO to Hales
Alex Hales has certainly instilled a fear factor in the minds of the opposition ever since he has become a regular feature in the SRH side but how effective is he going to be against an attack that relishes bowling on slower surfaces with not only their spin attack but also someone like Dwayne Bravo and Shardul Thakur in the mix?
Hales will find it hard to score off them and like we have seen in the past, the England opener has struggled to get on top of the spinners while batting in India. As a result, I personally believe it's a huge gamble picking him in the XI for this clash. Kane Williamson, the SRH skipper, once again seems the best bet as he has repeatedly showcased his ability to bat on different surfaces against different bowling attacks.
Yusuf the darkhorse
This is one recommendation I've not made during the entire season. Pick Yusuf Pathan. I know it sounds crazy, a bit bizarre, but I see this as a potential move to help you get ahead of the rest. Yusuf is no longer at his best. When he was at his best, he used to take on everyone successfully.
Bowlers genuinely feared him but age has changed things. He does struggle a bit against extreme pace but CSK do not have any bowler capable of cranking up the heat. Yusuf is still destructive against spin and if he can get an opportunity to take on the CSK spin attack, he will come out on top.
The Buttler factor
If you keep ignoring Jos Buttler now, you are taking a huge gamble. The man has been in amazing form. Four matches, four fifties and he is returning to the venue where he has played a lot of cricket before. The familiarity with the conditions will help Buttler and if dew does settle in, it could turn out to be the perfect place for him to go crazy once again.
You cannot afford to not take him. No other RR batsman is in form at the moment. Rahane, Samson and Stokes have all been misfiring. Among the trio, I would still recommend taking Samson because the boundaries are fairly shorter so if he can get his timing right, Samson can go onto to make a big score.
How to manage the MI batsmen?
This is actually quite interesting and challenging as well. Suryakumar Yadav has been in great form. Rohit Sharma is scoring in patches and is always dangerous. Ishan Kishan showcased his hitting prowess the other night and then there is Evin Lewis as well. You cannot afford to pick all four and it depends on the toss as well.
I wouldn't want to miss out on someone like Rohit if MI are chasing and with Lewis continuing to struggle, maybe he will make things easier for you in terms of team selection. But then, there is also Krunal and Hardik, who have the ability to fetch you valuable points. My advice is to leave out the two lefties - Lewis and Ishan.