IPL 2021: Strongest XI for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

Kolkata Knight Riders have fallen into a bit of trouble after losing their match against Punjab Kings. With five wins from 12 matches, KKR needs to win both their remaining matches. What should make them happy is the fact that they are up against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who they have beaten previously this season. 

They have had some injuries, which now has made them fall into some issues. However, a strong XI can be expected from them on the field in this game. A win would give them confidence ahead of their last fixture against Rajasthan Royals.

For their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, here is the strongest KKR XI: 

1. Openers (Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer) 

Shubman Gill’s batting form has been a thing of concern for Kolkata and it is becoming more and more evident. He made 7 runs in the previous match and his inconsistent run has now started hurting his side as it had during the first leg in India.

On the other hand, we have Venkatesh Iyer, who scored 67 runs from 49 balls in the previous game. His bowling has been an advantage, but whether it would be enough for KKR in this game or not, is something that needs to be seen. 

2. Middle-order (Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, and Dinesh Karthik)

Rahul Tripathi has looked in good touch with the bat whenever he has come in the middle. In the last game as well, he managed to score 34 runs from 26 balls. KKR can only hope he continues his good form with the bat. Nitish Rana, too, made a good contribution of 31 runs from 18 balls and seems to be settling well in the middle order. 

There is a need to talk about Eoin Morgan’s batting form, but head coach Brendon McCullum feels that the experienced batter will surely come good in the next few matches. Given this form of his, the responsibility on another senior statesman, Dinesh Karthik, increases. In the previous game, he only got 11 from 11 balls at the death. KKR would expect a little more than that. 

3. All-rounders (Sunil Narine and Ben Cutting) 

Sunil Narine has been doing quite well in this UAE leg. He has been bowling economically and can also help the KKR batters with some late surge with the bat. In the last game, he didn’t get a lot of deliveries while he was slightly expensive. Considering the kind of consistency he has shown, we might see him making a comeback in the next game. 

There is an issue, however, with Andre Russell’s injury. There is no update on whether he has recovered from his injury or not. Tim Seifert was picked in the previous match, but KKR did fall short of a bowler, which might make them want to try out an overseas all-rounder. Shakib Al Hasan is an option, but having an extra spinner can be difficult to manage with a little dew on the ball. Ben Cutting fits the bill and can do the job. 

4. Bowlers (Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy and Tim Southee)

KKR has now tried three different pacers in the one slot available. Prasidh Krishna was dropped after a poor outing, Sandeep Warrier bowled only two overs in his game and Shivam Mavi was the other bowler who was picked. He bowled four overs for 1 for 31, which seems good enough for someone to keep their place in the side. 

Varun Chakravarthy was quite fantastic in his four-over spell against Punjab. He picked up two wickets and gave only 24 runs in the four overs that he bowled. Tim Southee had a bad day with the ball against Punjab, giving away 40 runs in four overs, without any wicket. If Lockie Ferguson doesn’t recover in time, then KKR might be forced to stick with Southee.