Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the third match of IPL 2021 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. SRH are one of the most consistent teams in the IPL. Last year too, they made it to the playoffs before going down to Delhi Capitals in the second Qualifier.
KKR, on the other hand, narrowly missed out on making the playoffs. They finished fifth, equal on points with SRH and RCB, but lost out due to an inferior run rate. As SRH and KKR prepare to face each other in IPL 2021, here are three-player battles to look forward to.
1. David Warner vs Pat Cummins
The clash of the Aussies. While SRH skipper David Warner will open the batting for his franchise, Pat Cummins will, in all probability, open the bowling for KKR. With an unsettled middle-order, SRH have been heavily dependent on Warner to deliver goods.
And, he has hardly ever disappointed. In every season that he has featured in since 2014, Warner has scored in excess of 500 runs. In 2016, when SRH won the trophy, he amassed 848 runs. Even last year, though the left-hander did not look in the best of form, he still scored 548 runs.
To do well against SRH, teams need to get rid of Warner early. In Qualifier 2 against Delhi last year, Warner fell cheaply, and DC eased to victory. Cummins did not have a great season last year despite being the most expensive purchase at the auction.
He finished with 12 wickets in 14 games, finding some form towards the end. Despite his middling returns, there are no two ways about the fact that, on his day, Cummins is a match-winner. Even last season, he showed glimpses of the same during some fiery spells.
2. Andre Russell vs T Natarajan
After an astonishing IPL 2019, in which he smashed 510 runs in 249 balls at a strike rate of 204.81, Andre Russell’s performance last season turned out to be an anti-climax. He managed only 117 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 144.44.
Russell attempted the big strokes but just could not find his timing. He remains a dangerous hitter though and KKR will be keen for him to find his range again. If he does, expect blazing strokes from his bat.
The one effective way to stop monstrous hitters like Russell is not to give them any room to open their arms. Kagiso Rabada demonstrated this perfectly during the Super Over clash between DC and KKR in 2019. Even a rampant Russell could only watch his stumps being shattered.
T Natarajan did something similar last year when he cleaned up the legendary AB de Villiers with a yorker in the Eliminator. Even a genius like ABD could not watch and admire. Natarajan will hope to produce something similar to keep Russell quiet if the two are engaged in a battle.
3. Kane Williamson vs Varun Chakravarthy
Apart from Warner, Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson is the most consistent batsman in the SRH line up. Although considered a player in the traditional mould, Williamson has adapted his game magnificently to meet the demands of T20 cricket.
He can find the gaps with innovative stroke-making against both pace and spin. Last season as well, he impressed with 317 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 133.75. He was the lone ranger for SRH in the second Qualifier with a valiant 67.
Batting in the middle-order, Williamson is likely to come across a lot of slow bowling. He is one of the best when it comes to facing spin in modern-day cricket. This is why leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy will face a massive challenge if he comes up against the Kiwi.
Chakravarthy impressed last year, especially in a match against DC, where he bamboozled the batsmen with his wrong’uns. His task would be much stiffer against Williamson. But once you perform, expectations do rise. And, KKR would be expecting Chakravarthy to rise to the challenge.