Deception is something that we always strive to avoid. None of us want to fooled by something that presents itself as very rosy, as face value deception is the most widespread. We have our ways to identify it, deal with it and uncover the farce, but when it comes to the Wankhede wicket most of us fall prey to this ‘face value’ deception.
The Wankhede wicket has always been a batting paradise, a road in the true sense, if you may. And while it did dish out a few sluggish ones this time round, the last league game here brought in normalcy as close to 460 runs were scored in 40 overs. With the same track being used for the qualifier as well, we had expected a run feast yet again. But it was not be.
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The batsmen found it extremely difficult to get the short, slower balls away, and only a Dhoni special could help RPS pile up 160 on the board, a modest total by the looks of it, but a monster one on this tricky track.
Mumbai were somehow still expected to chase it down, with the kind of depth they had in their batting. There were no such prominent demons in the RPS attack, ones that could pose a huge threat to this highly experienced Mumbai batting unit. But a new one cropped up last night, with the name of Washington Sundar. Sundar took 3 crucial wickets during the middle phase to completely rock the Mumbai batting line up, forcing them to play catch up cricket all along.
With the top order back in the hut, we had all expected another Pandya-Pollard special but the Pune bowling unit kept a very tight check on things, storming into the finals, without their talisman, Ben Stokes.
Mumbai Indians have another shot at the final, thanks to their number 1 position in the league, and would be hoping to take care of business in the right way on Friday.
Let’s get to our business now!
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
Two of the most balanced sides (a little bowling and top order dominated, but balanced nonetheless) take on each other in a must win game. A loss tonight could mean that all that hard work of the league stage would go down the drain. The big guys need to step up tonight.
KKR would be hoping to sort out their batting order for this game, as their middle order has been a complete absentee in the past 6 games, forcing the top order to do all the hardwork. Uthappa has had a dip in form, which can be mostly attributed to him being pushed down to the number 4 spot. Will KKR push Sunil Narine down the order and open with Lynn and Gambhir? We’ll have to find out.
SRH have most things sorted and would be hoping Yuvi is fit for this game.
IPL Fantasy League tips on the next page:
IPL Fantasy League(Fantasy Guide for KKR vs SRH)
Transfer out: Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Jaydev Unadkat, Rahul Tripathi, Lendl Simmons, Mitch McCleneghan(only if KKR bowl first)
Transfer in: Gautam Gambhir/Shikhar Dhawan(whoever bats first), Chris Lynn, David Warner, Sunil Narine/Rashid Khan(whoever bowls first), Siddharth Kaul, Umesh Yadav(only if KKR bowl first)
Now, I already have Robin Uthappa and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in my side for this game.
As RPS have qualified for the finals and wouldn’t be featuring in the second qualifier in Bangalore on Friday, and hence you can transfer the RPS players out.
Chris Lynn would be the first player that I would be bringing in for this game. On a traditional Bangalore wicket he would have wrecked havoc for sure, but even on a sluggish Bangalore wicket he should be better than most, considering the form that he has been in. You just can’t afford to leave him out. Get him in!
Now, the forecast for this game is not that great, hence I would advise you to focus more on the top order batsmen, and leave out the number 4 and 5 batsmen.
David Warner would be my second pick for this game. I don’t think this pick requires any justification. It is mandatory to get him in!
While I don’t often pick Shikhar Dhawan, as you can’t really bank on him, he has been really consistent this season, scoring runs according to the situation in every game for SRH.
Gambhir would be my next pick for this game. The Afghan spinner shouldn’t be much of a threat to him, as he is probably one of the finest players of spin in the world. Also, the fact that he could be bumped up to the openers slot makes his greater cause for his selection.
But seeing the team combination constraint, I won’t be able to bring both Shikhar and Dhawan into my XI, and thus I would go for whoever bats first, owing to the rain issue.
I would generally stay away from bowlers during a rain curtailed game, as you don’t really know how long the match would go on for and who would get to bowl how many overs. So, if you have to get a bowler, get one from the first innings and not the second one.
This is probably the trickiest of all picks, as you don’t really know how the pitch would behave after the rain. Chinnaswamy has been a little on the slow side this season but then the rain could cause the ball to come onto the bat a little better.
In such a tricky situation, the safest option seems to be Sunil Narine, who is bound to give you economical overs at the least. Also, if he is deployed upto, it serves a dual purpose.
But if Narine isn’t being deployed in the opening slot and is bowling second, I suggest you leave him out and get in Rashid Khan instead.
For the last transfer I would be getting in Umesh Yadav, but only if KKR bowls first.
For the uncapped player I’ll be getting in Siddhath Kaul, as he has been the most impressive out of all the uncapped players on display for this game. The fact that he has outshone Bhuvi in the last few matches is a testament to how much he has grown in this IPL.
Captain: Chris Lynn/David Warner(whoever bats first)
Fandromeda Fantasy Tips on the next page:
Fandromeda(Fantasy Guide for KKR vs SRH)
Transfer out: Lendl Simmons, Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Keiron Pollard, Rahul Tripathi
Transfer in: David Warner, Chris Lynn, Shikhar Dhawan/Gautam Gambhir, Bhuvi, Sunil Narine/Rashid Khan
Now, I already have Robin Uthappa in my side for this game.
Lynn and Warner walk into my XI, reasons for which are already mentioned in the IPL Fantasy League section.
For the other transfers as well, I’ll be taking the exact same route as that in the IPL Fantasy League, just that the players transferred out could be a bit different.
Umesh Yadav to be brought in only if KKR bowl first. You could provide the same argument for Bhuvi as well, but when there is rain around, the ball is bound to do something in the air, and Bhuvi is probably the best exponent of that in the Indian bowling circuit.
Batting Star: David Warner/Chris Lynn(whoever bats first)
Bowling Star: Umesh Yadav/Bhuvi(whoever bowls first)
