Moneyball9 Fantasy Tips: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kolkata Knight Riders find themselves in a precarious situation after failing to find consistency in the tournament. A loss in their last league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad could signal the end for them. With SRH already qualified, they could take this game lightly and with KKR desperate for a win, they will look to do all they can to push for a win in front of their home supporters. So going in with more KKR players for the fantasy would make sense without a doubt but remember this, Andre Russell is yet again ruled out. So how do we go about managing the budget? Here’s an analysis:
Batsmen:
One can expect the skipper to put his hand up in this crunch situation. Gautam Gambhir will be doing all he can to enter the playoffs and that would certainly mean leading from the front. He has also been in good form this year and picking him as one of the three batsmen in the side is ideal. The Knight Riders did receive a bit of criticism for not promoting Suryakumar Yadav up the order in the previous game, so they are expected to rectify that mistake and send the busy batsman at number four. He also has a wide range of shots against the seamers and considering SRH are seamer-heavy, Yadav is definitely an option.
From the SRH, it has to be David Warner. It simply cannot be anyone else ahead of him. Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh are the other options but with the skipper scoring one-third of his team’s runs, do not look elsewhere even though he will cost you 10,000 bucks. He is totally worth it.
Wicket-keeper batsman:
Robin Uthappa has a point to prove after some dull performances in the recent games and what better platform than a must-win game? You don’t have a lot of contenders to pick from anyway. Only a big time gambler would go for Naman Ojha. There is no doubt that Ojha is supremely talented but the SRH prefer having him at number six or seven and on most occasions he doesn’t face enough deliveries. Compare that with a player who is opening the innings in the form of Uthappa! You know whom to pick!
All-rounder:
With Russell out injured, the options you get are his replacement Jason Holder, left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan and then Moises Henriques, who has been disappointing this season compared to the previous one. Shakib can be effective but the Kolkata pitch hasn’t been taking a lot of turn like it usually does and also SRH have at least three batsmen in the top three or four who are all left-handed and that could negate Shakib’s threat. Jason Holder is the ideal one considering he is somewhat similar to Russell. He is available for a cheap price as well.
In the option to present a flexible player in the team, users can go for someone like Yusuf Pathan, who has been in good form surprising a few people. Yuvraj Singh is the other option and he costs only 500 more than Yusuf Pathan.
Bowlers:
With Ashish Nehra ruled out, Barindar Sran’s inclusion is a must especially with your side having no other choice other than saving money at least on one player. Sran will cost the side only 3000 bucks. Leaving out Mustafizur is almost a crime in this current form but that would also mean you will have to leave out Bhuvneshwar Kumar because of the lack of money. The likes of Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine haven’t been amongst the wickets so picking KKR’s most successful spinner this year Piyush Chawla would be ideal. He has evolved as a cricketer and it remains to be seen what he can offer against a rampaging top order!
My ideal team: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, David Warner, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Jason Holder, Piyush Chawla, Mustafizur Rahman and Barindar Sran.
DISCLAIMER: The article just contains suggestions and Sportskeeda are not responsible or liable for the outcome.