EXCLUSIVE
Follow UsIt promises to be a Friday blockbuster as the Sunrisers Hyderabad lock horns against the Kolkata Knight Riders in an evening encounter at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai.
While the two sides endured contrasting starts to their campaign in this edition of the Indian Premier League, it will be the Knight Riders who will be itching to set things right after a dismal bowling performance in their last encounter against the Delhi Capitals (DC).
The Boys in Purple and Gold conceded 215 runs in their quota of 20 overs in the first innings and failed to chase down the mammoth target, and fell short by 44 runs.
In an exclusive conversation with cricket.com, WV Raman analyses the loss and the way forward for the Knight Riders.
"I think the pitch at the Brabourne offered nothing for the bowlers, and it has a fast outfield. Delhi Capitals have two blazing guns at the top with Warner and Prithvi Shaw but what really pushed KKR back was the lower order of the batting from Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel. They are both very capable of tonking the ball, which they did in the last match," he said.
While the pace bowlers were smashed all around the park, the team management of the Knight would be disappointed with the performance of their spinner, Varun Chakaravarthy.
The mystery spinner had a tough outing and conceded 44 runs in his four overs at an economy rate of 11 runs per over, making it difficult for Shreyas Iyer and the team to stem the flow of runs.
"Let's not forget he is the one who can have one bad day here or there. Secondly, the people have also started working him out, and when there is nothing offered on the pitch, it is not going to be easy for the bowlers at all," Raman said.
"We saw Cummins and Umesh Yadav, who were very experienced, went for a lot of runs because they was hardly anything off the seam. With the spinners, they were not getting any assistance from the surface, and it was a nightmare of the pitch as far as the bowlers were concerned," he further added.
The former Indian player also shared insights on how the team can sort their overseas combination and their death bowling concerns ahead of this high-voltage clash.
"They would want to see what best they can do and back them because Russel can win you matches on his own, and Pat Cummins did it with the bat, making him indispensable. Sunil Narine is the one who did not leak runs the other night at Brabourne stadium, but still, DC managed to score over 200, which means his overs are a bank," he said.
"They have to forget that particular game against DC and tell themselves that this is the format where we are capable of going for runs, and it is the batting we need to try and have a hard look," he stated.
While they will be aiming to forget their horrendous display with the ball against the Capitals and get back to winnings way, the team would set foot on the ground sweating over the fitness of Venkatesh Iyer.
However, Raman suggests that the team management can opt for Sheldon Jackson incase Venkatesh is not fit to take part in this game.
"I think they will probably have to sacrifice Sam Billings and bring in Sheldon Jackson, who can come in and open the batting. As far as Venkatesh Iyer is concerned, they can look at Karunaratne, who is a good all-arounder and can be very useful. And there you have Sheldon Jackson, who is capable of keeping the wickets and opening the batting," he said.
The Knight also have another area of concern as Ajinkya Rahane has failed to live up to all the hype and expectation in this edition of the tournament.
In reply to a fan's question, if KKR should opt for opening with Sunil Narine, Raman said, "That can be done, but they will Ajinkya Rahane to add solidity and counter the really express fast bowlers at the top of the order because you cannot expose Sunil Narine too much. The logic would be that incase he gets injured, and he is out for the season, that would prove very expensive for KKR."
On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad have looked like a completely different outfit in the last couple of matches. After registering a compressive win against Chennai, they handed Gujarat their first defeat of the season.
While they have followed their formula of restricting the opposition for a low score and chasing it down, they will find it a bit tough if they have to set a target.
"Sunrisers have set a plan, and they are following it methodically. There are certain sides that find it difficult to set targets because what happens is if they do not have enough firepower, they tend to bank on chasing because they know exactly how to pace the innings. Whereas when you're setting a target, you do not know how much is enough, especially when they are building it up in a nice tempo; hence, even at their best, they would prefer chasing most of the time," he said.
One of the standout players for the Orange Army in the tournament has been Rahul Tripathi. The right-handed batter has played some crucial knocks for the side and will hold the key in this clash.
"He is extremely important for SRH because he can be a game-changer with his explosive batting, and he is also somebody who is a very good fielder. As far as batting is concerned, he plays only in one mode, which is getting runs quickly, and doesn't waste his time at the crease. The moment he walks out to bat, he is there to dominate you," he said.
Kane Williamson and the team management will need to tinker with their playing XI as Washington Sunder will not be available for them due to a split webbing.
"I think they should go for Shreyas Gopal because he has a lot of experience and has played quite a few IPL games as well. He is very handy with the bat and would probably bat in the same place as Washington Sundar did, " he said.
"I think one thing they can tweak is having Markram at number three, the opener for South Africa. He likes the ball to come onto the bat because he may not be the best against the spinner. With Tripathi, he plays both spin and pace well. Pooran is also coming into some good form and gaining confidence from his last outing, and I think Markram is the one who needs to have a bit of an extra time out there because he has not had much of a hit," he further added.
Raman also feels that the Knight Riders would have a slight edge over their counterparts mainly due to their all-around abilities.
"I think on paper, KKR is a good side and might have the edge over the Sunrisers because Sunrisers would be banking on certain things to go their way for a result. KKR is a better team to manage whether they set a target or chase down a target," he signed off.