IPL 2019 Fantasy Tips: Dream 11 Fantasy Tips for KKR vs SRH as The SportsRush helps you create a well-balanced Fantasy Team.
The first night of the IPL did not quite live up to the hype. RCB were bowled out for a meagre 70 and the ghosts of the past returned for Virat Kohli and co., who seem to encounter such situations a little too often.
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For CSK it was a stroll in the park, thanks to a masterful powerplay performance by the wily old Harbhajan Singh. RCB misread the pitch big time, with the entire top order trying to manufacture strokes that just weren’t required on this pitch.
The middle order and the tail folded quickly and CSK were left with the formality of chasing down 71 runs in their own den. They did so in their own sweet time, depriving the crowd and the spectators of any sort of entertainment that they had envisaged from the high octane IPL 2019 opener.
It’s time now to move on, put the drab game behind us and focus on what Eden Gardens has to offer on Sunday afternoon.
Here we have two teams that have had similar sort of mantras in the IPL all along. Rely on the bowling unit restricting the opposition and then chase the total down thanks to some solid performances from the top order.
While the relaid Eden Gardens surface hasn’t aided the spinners as much as it used to in the past, if anyone can extract spin from that surface, it has to be the KKR and the SRH spinners.
Let’s get to business.
Dream 11 Fantasy Tips for KKR vs SRH
According to Tom Moody’s press conference ahead of the game at Eden Gardens, Kane Williamson is doubtful for the game tomorrow and Bhuvi would be captaining SRH.
Wicketkeeper
Now, with Williamson out of the equation, SRH should draft in Jonny Bairstow to open the innings with David Warner. Amongst the wicketkeepers on offer for this game, Bairstow seems to be the one with the highest ‘impact potential’, as he would be opening the batting, as opposed to Saha or DK, who are slated to bat in the middle order.
Bowlers
I have gone in with the usual suspects for bowling from the two teams. Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar make it to my XI, largely because of how these 3 are the most likely to be amongst the wickets from all the bowlers on offer tomorrow.
Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav should enjoy the bounce that the Eden Gardens track has to offer and if history is an indicator, they should be able to get at least a couple of wickets each during the middle overs. Moreover, both franchises have used these two players for at least an over during the death overs, giving them an even better chance of being amongst the wickets.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is set to lead SRH for the firs time and with him certain to bowl at least a couple of overs at the death, you wouldn’t want to go into tomorrow’s game without his services. Get him in for sure.
All-Rounders
Four all-rounders stand out from tomorrow’s game, and incidentally three of them have played for KKR sometime or the other in their IPL career.
Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell make it to my consideration set with respect to the all-rounder positions, but I can bring in only 2, considering my team combination and the budget constraints.
Sunil Narine and Andre Russell make the cut, as the way the two teams setup, Narine and Russell could have a larger say in the fate of the game than Shakib.
Narine is a must, as he would be bowling his quota of 4 overs and also opening the batting. While he is up against a stingy SRH bowling unit, the prospect of 6 powerplay overs and 4 bowling overs are too much to overlook.
Andre Russell gets the nod ahead of Shakib, as he is almost certain to bowl his quota of 4, considering the lack of quality fast bowling options that KKR have.
Shakib’s batting position is a question mark as of now, and while he should get his 4 overs away, as a package Russell seems to be one that could have a greater impact in the game.
For that one left over All-Rounder spot, I get in Vijay Shankar, who has seen some good times with the Indian cricket team in the recent past. With Shankar being tried for the number 4 spot for the ICC World Cup, he could very well slate into that role for the Sunrisers too. And if his stint with the Indian team is anything to go by, one could expect a few fireworks from Shankar tomorrow.
Batsman
In the absence of Kane Williamson, the onus would be on David Warner, SRH’s wily old warrior to carry the mantle of the batting group.
And while he is returning from an year off in IPL cricket, one could expect him to set the ball rolling right from the word go. In his time in the BPL(before he got injured), Warner had scored 3 fifties and was going along pretty well. Get him in, you wouldn’t want to miss out on a Warner classic.
Now, I have decided to go in with three batsman, as the Dream 11 scoring system is a little skewed in favour of the batsmen. And with the basic thumb rule being of getting in batsmen in the top 4, I get in Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa(both of whom should bat in the top 3 of their respective teams).
Both these Karnataka stars have had a good time in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy(Uthappa plays for Saurashtra), with Manish Pandey leading his side to victory.
One could argue about getting in Nitish Rana or Shubman Gill, but you can’t really be sure about who will bat where. While Rana batted at 4 for KKR last time round, Gill has played for India since, and could be promoted to play at 4.
I am left with one spot and 8 credits. For this spot, I would be getting in Gill, if KKR bat first and Prasidh Krishna, if KKR bowl first.
Now, if Kane Williamson does indeed play tomorrow, you might have to change things a little. Bairstow will then sit out and Saha could open with Warner, with Williamson slotting in at 3. In that case I would bring in Saha(choosing him over DK as he opens the batting), drop one from Pandey and Uthappa(whoever bats second) and get in Gill.
Captain: Andre Russell(if KKR bat first)/Sunil Narine(if KKR bowl first)
Vice-Captain: Bhuvi(if SRH bowl first)/Rashid Khan(if SRH bowl second)
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Transfer out: Virat Kohli, Dwayne Bravo
Transfer in: Sunil Narine, Bhuvi
Now, I already have Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav in my team for this game.
I would be making two changes for this game. The first change would be bringing in one from Narine and Russell. While, there is no real way to tell which of them will fire on Sunday, I have come up with two cases to ease things out for us.
Russell’s major trait is his batting while Narine’s is his bowling. Thus, I would get in Russell if KKR bat first, that way I have some assurance about him getting some amount of deliveries to himself while setting a target. Batting second, Russell could come in at a condition where either KKR have too little to do or a little too much to do. I would bring in Narine, if KKR bowl first.
That would be my way of approaching the Narine-Russell issue, but because of my budget constraints, I can only bring in Narine.
For the second transfer, I would be getting in Bhuvi, who could chip in with a few cheap wickets during the death overs.
Captain: Sunil Narine
