Can Sunrisers tame the marauding Knight Riders?
Injuries to key players a concern for both teams; the winner will meet the loser of Qualifier 1 for a place in the final
Is there a calm artist in the Indian Premier League?
Spraying the ball into the galleries with brute power — a combination of
helpful willow and an aggressive mind — the batsmen have come to
redefine the very essence of batting. They call the shots against some
of the best bowlers in the business.
What about the bowlers? Empathy is all they get but no solution to their misery.
There
are brute belters of the ball everywhere. The boundaries get shorter
and encourage mayhem in the middle. The spectators love it.
This
is different cricket. Yusuf Pathan is a hit with the audience as he
sends the ball soaring into the sky. But it does not help him reclaim a
spot in the national squad. There lies the paradox.
David
Warner, Yusuf, Andre Russell (if he recovers from injury) are known to
hit sixes at will. It is the trusted scoring shot in the IPL.
Wait
and swing. And swing hard. Sometimes, even mishits land beyond the
fence. Astonishing stuff that mocks at the coaching manual.
Sunrisers
Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders trade blows in the Eliminator that
is expected to generate much heat at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on
Wednesday.
After all, at stake is the opportunity to
have a go at the title. Holder Mumbai Indians has been packed off and
Sunrisers can back themselves to tame the marauding KKR.
Monotony factor
A
league which is promoted by the administrators, players present and
former, as a stepping stone to international cricket, is in its ninth
edition, looking at tackling the monotony factor.
Injury to key players has cost some teams, notably Ashish Nehra missing action at this stage for Sunrisers.
There
are issues related to the next edition — the Board has hinted it may
move overseas. Not everything is good and acceptable in IPL but the
players are hardly complaining.
SRH has demonstrated
the significance of good bowling. It is feasible to place your faith in
bowlers in this batsman-dominated tournament but the leader of this
campaign, Nehra, will watch the action from England where he recovers
from a hamstring injury.
It can be a daunting task for Sunrisers to stop the KKR run-machine where Gautam Gambhir brings quality at the top.
KKR
has a formidable batting strength with the likes of Robin Uthappa and
Manish Pandey capable of dictating the result of the match with their
innovative style. Off-spinner Sunil Narine may have lost some of his
guile but continues to command respect with his accuracy. Russell’s
injury can hurt KKR even as it relies on Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round
skills.
There is a calm artist in this league — the
gifted Kane Williamson — but he has hardly got going. In the same camp,
the wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the seamer with a Buddha-like composure,
brings old world charm to the art of bowling — he swings, seams and
varies the pace cleverly.
With Mustafizur Rahman as
partner, Bhuvneshwar forms an ideal opening pair. Their success against
the attacking KKR shall decide the course of the contest.
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