Uncapped players’ day at the Chepauk

Two very balanced sides, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders took the field yesterday to kick start their respective campaigns. The match was held at Chepauk, Chennai. On paper, both these sides look good with more strengths than weaknesses but cricket is a funny game and it surprises you when you least expect them. Last year, Sunrisers and KKR played out an exciting tie in the UAE, and going into the match yesterday I expected another thriller.

 So let’s look at the hits and misses from yesterday’s match.

 The Hits

 1. Nitish Rana holds the record of the most half-centuries scored by an uncapped player. After a dozen half-centuries, he is yet to crack into the Indian team is only because of his lack of consistency. Last season he scored half-centuries and then invariably followed that with a duck on the next match. Yesterday he played a fabulous knock of 80 runs and gave KKR a lovely start. He needs to now ensure that he scores consistently throughout the tournament so that the selectors take notice.

 2. Rahul Tripathi is another player who looks so good on the eye when in full flow but lacks consistency. Another year and another half-century in his first match. Now hoping for some consistency from him for the rest of the tournament. His big-hitting against Bhubaneswar Kumar turned out to be one of the big reasons for KKR’s win.

 3. Dinesh Karthick recently stated that he wishes to play for Team India and make a mark in the coming World Cup. For that to happen he needs big runs and yesterday he showed why he is one of India’s best finishers even today. His quick-fire 22 runs of 9 balls at the end took KKR from a par score to a winning score. The final margin of victory was much lesser than what DK scored in the last over.

 4. Rashid Khan is the best leg spinner in the world, especially in white-ball cricket. He is in a separate zone altogether. His 4 overs are like a fixed deposit for his captain and he showed why once more yesterday. First, he came in to dislodge Shubman Gill and later took the wicket of Russell to put KKR under temporary pressure!

 5. Prasidh Krishna was a surprise addition to the Indian team in the recently concluded ODI series against England. To be fair to him he turned in a very good performance and it was quite thrilling to see the amount of bounce he could extract from the pitches in each of the three matches he played. He is tall and he has good pace. Yesterday he showed that his confidence is now sky high because the ball that took the wicket of David Warner left everyone bewildered. Warner didn’t expect such pace and bounce from a docile Chennai track. Prasidh Krishna was economical and took 2 wickets too. He would be the man to watch out for this season.

6. At 10/2, chasing 188 Surisers Hyderabad was in some strife. But Bairstow and Manish Pandey brought the match alive with some clean hitting and beautiful running between the wickets. Bairstow in particular looked in ominous touch and it was his wicket that turned the match in KKR’s favour decisively. Both he and Manish scored fifties but the damage done in the powerplay was too much to be covered up in the end.

 7. Abdul Samad is a player I am really looking forward to this season. He showed glimpses of his special talent last year and he showed it yesterday too with two fabulous hits off Pat Cummins in the 19th over. That KKR won with a 10 run margin was only because of Abdul Samad otherwise the gap would have been far bigger. I hope Sunrisers make him bat at number 5 not at number 7. In the field, he took two catches too. The guy can bowl decent leg-spin too though he was not called for bowling yesterday.

 What were the misses?

 1. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar missed the IPL last year due to an injury and that left a gaping hole in the Sunrisers set up. With him back in action this year, Sunrisers needed him to bowl the important overs at the start and the death. But with Tripathi and Rana going great guns, Warner was forced to get Bhuvi in the middle overs but it turned askew as Tripathi took Bhuvi to the cleaners. We don’t often see Bhuvaneshwar getting hit in such a manner. It was an off-day for him yesterday.

 2. David Warner has been struggling with a groin injury and I am not sure if he is still 100% fit and he looked off-colour yesterday during his brief stay on the crease. He could have got out in the first over itself when Cummins dropped his catch but he couldn’t capitalise and got out in the next over against Prasidh Krishna. With an inexperienced middle order, Sunrisers Hyderabad will expect him to come good in the next match.

3. Shubhman Gill is terribly out of touch. He had a terrific series in Australia but he has not done much since then. Yesterday, he failed once again and KKR will hope that he gets back his touch soon. Yesterday 4 delightful cover drives were hit straight to the fielders – I hope he works on this aspect because playing in the gaps is an art and I am sure he will come back stronger in the future matches.

 4. Andre Russell looks fitter but he is still not at his best. This year there is a backup in Ben Cutting so if he doesn’t deliver, I won’t be surprised if he is replaced. He failed with the bat but redeemed himself somewhat with two good overs at the end. But overall he is still a pale shadow of 2019.

 What to look forward to?

 For Sunrisers Hyderabad they need a little bit of rejigging in their lineup. They need Kane Williamson in the playing XI and that would mean Nabi missing out. Williamson not only holds the innings together he is handly with the ball too. Here is my predicted XI for the next match: David Warner, Johny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Abdul Samad, Kedar Jhadav, Abhisekh Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, N. Natarajan

 For Kolkata Knight Riders they made a good start to their campaign but Mumbai Indians await in the next match. They have a horrible record against the defending champions so they need to be at their best because Mumbai Indians would come hard after their first loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Here is my predicted XI for the next match: Shubhman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Shakib Al Hasan, Dinesh Karthick, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav & Varun Chakravarthy.

 Will KKR be able to build up from here? Or will they remain inconsistent like previous years? Will they be able to beat Mumbai Indians? What do you think? Do write in as we build up to another great match today between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

 It’s a fresh week everyone – hope all of you are excited to take on the new challenges that life throws at you. Be happy, Be excited, and keep winning!

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