The current version of IPL states that there have been a total of 1,208 sixes in the 70 matches. Their attacking batting has helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) rank second in the table this season after finishing bottom last year with a colossal 160 sixes already scored by them in just thirteen matches.
Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins will spearhead SRH’s attack this time round and they hope to reach their goals despite the fact that at first, they must overcome Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when the two sides meet at Ahmedabad on Tuesday during their first qualifier.
Form team KKR is coached by Gautam Gambhir who had led them into winning two IPL titles in 2014 and 2016. West Indian Sunil Narine and Englishman Phil Salt who has gone for international duty have played all around with the new ball bowlers. Even though Kolkata’s previous two league fixtures were washed out due to rain, it will be interesting to see how Salt’s replacement Rahmanullah Gurbaz performs considering that he plays like-for-like.
Nitish Rana and captain Shreyas Iyer began KKR’s innings as Venkatesh Iyer came in at number three kkr keeping pace with his opening batsmen while Andre Rusell and Rinku Singh did well down there.
The Sunrisers’ bowling mix of B Kumar bhuvneshwar kumar pacer , left arm glow T Natarajan natarajan cummins is going to test KKR’s batting. In absence of Wanindu Hasaranga from Sri Lanka, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has provided another option for spin with Shahbaz Ahmed being a left arm spinner too.
SRH also possess similar power right up front through left-hand combinations such as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma who are known for their attacking style right from ball one.
In this respect, the most recent league match between SRH and Punjab Kings is instructive. In pursuit of 215, SRH lost Head for a first ball duck against Punjab Kings in their last league match but they assaulted throughout to finish in the last over.
Sharma has been an eye opener. Having just completed a brilliant domestic season wherein he played a key role in helping Punjab secure the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, this southpaw’s range of strokes has bowled over fans as well as his competitors. It is important to note that both Sharma and Head have strike rates above 200 which is sufficient enough to send jitters among the ranks of opponents.
The middle order’s driving force is Rahul Tripathi, Reddy and Heinrich Klassen with Abdul Samad and Ahmed also being powerful hitters. Mitchell Starc of KKR will be their opponent who may not have been worth his price but bowls the best fuller deliveries in cricket that can ruin any batting attack.
Varun Chakaravarthy (18 wickets) ) and Narine (15 wickets) , on the other hand, are two spinners who have been hard to get away from and have always struck when their teams needed them most; Harshit Rana (16 wickets) alongside Vaibhav Arora has formed a good bowling tandem.
KKR beat SRH by four runs when they played each other at Eden Garden in the only clash between the two sides this season. This suggests that there could be an exciting contest in Ahmedabad if last year is anything to go by.
After heavy rain forced the cancellation of Gujarat’s previous home game against Kolkata Knight Riders last Monday, it has become extremely hot and it will be interesting to see how the pitch plays out.
