IPL Fantasy League 2016 Tips: DD vs KKR and SRH vs RCB

DD vs KKR

Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Transfers made – 0 (1); Transfers remaining – 49 (48)

Ravindra Jadeja out – Chris Morris in (if DD bowl first)

(uncapped) Shivil Kaushik out – Suryakumar Yadav in 

Batting captain – Quinton de Kock (if KKR bat first)/ Robin Uthappa (if KKR bat second)

Bowling captain – Amit Mishra/Chris Morris (if DD bowl first)

Only one captain for the entire match? Robin Uthappa (if DD bat first)/ Chris Morris (if DD bowl first)

Add-on sub – Gautam Gambhir 

Note: I don't expect the Daredevils to score a lot of runs if they bat first, so my picks for captaincy will be based on that factor. 

Batting captaincy options – Quinton de Kock, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir

All three have their issues to deal with today – Uthappa seems to panic once the powerplay restrictions come off, De Kock could be tested by spin on a surface that’s been helping slow bowlers, and Gambhir has to tackle the bounce of Chris Morris and swing of Zaheer Khan.  

Bowling captaincy options – Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Amit Mishra and Shakib Al Hasan 

There are no real standout options here. The KKR players are used to playing on slow, low decks, so they should manage the DD leg-spin duo well. Shakib Al Hasan, on the other hand, could be nullified with the Daredevils having 3 left-handers in top 7.

Morris seems to be the best bet with him bowling a couple of overs at the death. 

Nature of the deck – Dry 

Delhi Daredevils – Fantasy clinchers

Delhi could bring back Shreyas Iyer or Mayank Agarwal into the team in place of Rishabh Pant, which could see all of their batsmen go back by one position as compared to last game. 

Mohammad Shami should replace Shahbaz Nadeem considering the fact that the Knight Riders struggle more against pace than spin.

Chris Morris could get promoted after his heroics last game, which if happens, increases his fantasy potential considerably. 

Kolkata Knight Riders – Fantasy clinchers

Chris Lynn and Jaidev Unadkat should be dropped after their performances in the last match. Morne Morkel and Piyush Chawla are obvious choices to replace them. I wouldn’t, however, be surprised if Brad Hogg is preferred given the nature of the deck here. 

Rajagopal Sathish’s position is in a spot of bother as well after failing with the bat twice. 

Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell’s power-hitting against spinners could be the difference today, so I see a promotion coming for one of these two monsters.

Uncapped picks – Mayank Agarwal (1), Suryakumar Yadav (2), Kuldeep Yadav (3), Shreyas Iyer (4)

Notable exclusions 

JP Duminy – The best Duminy can score is a half-century, which I can take. Gambhir is the only left-hander in the KKR side and he plays spin well, which eliminates the South African’s all-round value as well.

Gautam Gambhir – Mere hope that he fails. The combination doesn’t permit me to have a lot of pure batsmen in my team. 

Match-call – With their superior ability to play spin bowling, KKR are favourites to win the match here. Playing Hogg could further enhance their chances. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Transfers made – 4; Transfers remaining – 45 (44)

Quinton de Kock out – Ab de Villiers in 

Ravindra Jadeja/Chris Morris out – Virat Kohli in

Amit Mishra out – Shane Watson in 

Rohit Sharma out – David Warner in 

(uncapped) Suryakumar Yadav out – Yuzvendra Chahal in

Batting captain – David Warner

Bowling captain – Shane Watson

Only one captain for the entire match? David Warner. 

Add-on subs – Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar 

SRH vs KKR

Batting captaincy options – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and David Warner

With Kohli and De Villiers playing a top class bowling attack, I am inclined to captaining Warner this match. De Villiers, in particular, has to face a lot of Mustafizur. Chris Gayle hardly delivers against quality bowling attacks. 

Bowling captaincy options – Shane Watson, Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Sunrisers play their next fixture only after 6 matches, so I don’t think it’s worth bringing in any of their bowlers, more so against a batting line-up that’s as good as RCB’s. This makes Watson an obvious choice. If you don’t have him, Yuzvendra Chahal is a decent option as well.

Nature of the deck – Flat

Sunrisers Hyderabad – Fantasy clinchers

Sunrisers might replace Aditya Tare with someone like Tirumalasetti Suman or Ashish Reddy, which could see Moises Henriques coming back to his position.

There is no bankable report on Kane Williamson’s return, but even if he comes back, I don’t see a role for him at No.3. The Kiwi stalwart has to open to be successful, which I don't see happening in this set-up. Not only will they be wasting him at No.3, but if it comes at the expense of Henriques, they will be losing a quality bowling option as well.

Royal Challengers Bangalore – Fantasy clinchers

Chris Gayle should take the place of Kane Richardson. I don’t see either of them having any impact on the way the game goes today, so it doesn’t really matter. 

KL Rahul’s performance last game means Kedhar Jadhav is destined for the bench for the rest of the season – a move that’s not going to help them.

With 3 left-handers in the top 4 of the Sunrisers’ batting line-up, Iqbal Abdulla could get dropped in favour of one of the local pace bowlers. 

Match call – Sunrisers’ bowling unit should help them see this match off.