IPL 2019, KKR vs SRH: Top 5 player battles to watch out for

Here’s a look at the top five player battles to watch out for in the IPL clash between KKR and SRH.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad had a fantastic season last year. Under the leadership of Kane Wiliamson, they finished first in the league stage, but unfortunately went down to Chennai Super Kings in the final. The Kolkata Knight Riders on the other hand were knocked out by Hyderabad in the second qualifier in the last season.

File image of David Warner. (Sportzpics)

The Sunrisers will be certainly looking forward to welcome their ace opener David Warner back to their side. The Australian was banned from the last season because of his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year.

Here’s a look at the top five player battles to watch out for in this IPL clash.

Dinesh Karthik vs Shakib Al Hasan

Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Dinesh Karthik has struggled against Shakib Al Hasan in the IPL so far. The wicketkeeper-batsman has managed a strike-rate of just 104.00 against the Bangladesh spinner and has been dismissed twice in 25 deliveries. Karthik, who has a strike-rate of 132.73 in T20s, will be looking to better his performance against a quality bowler like Shakib. The KKR skipper hasn’t been in the best of form in his recent innings and therefore he will need to get off to a good start in the IPL.

Chris Lynn vs Rashid Khan

Chris Lynn has been known for his destructive starts in the Indian Premier League and the Australian will be looking to start with a bang in KKR’s first match against SRH. However, Lynn, will have to be weary of Rashid Khan. The opening batsman has recorded a strike-rate of just 94.74 against the Afghanistan bowler. Lynn has scored 18 runs off 19 balls against Rashid and has been dismissed once by the leg-spinner in the IPL.

Robin Uthappa vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Robin Uthappa, who will mostly bat at the top order for the Kolkata Knight Riders, will have to find a way to score at a quicker rate against SRH’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Uthappa has scored 70 runs off 69 balls against the speedster in the IPL and he has been dismissed once. Bhuvneshwar has the ability to put a brake on the runs by swinging the ball both ways. Uthappa is one of the main batsmen in the KKR camp and therefore the team will benefit in a big way if Uthappa managed to have an upper hand against Bhuvneshwar.

David Warner vs Kuldeep Yadav

David Warner will certainly look to come back to top competitive cricket with a huge score. The opening batsman hasn’t played high level cricket for a year and he has to prove that he still has the mettle to bat at the highest level. However, waiting for him in the KKR camp will be Kuldeep Yadav. The chinaman bowler has picked up the wicket of Warner twice in 29 deliveries. Warner has recorded a strike-rate of 134.48 against Kuldeep in the IPL.

Kane Williamson vs Sunil Narine

Kane Williamson had a fantastic season last year. The Kiwi batsman finished as the top scorer in the tournament with 735 runs in 17 innings. However, Williamson has struggled to get going against Sunil Narine in the past editions of the IPL. The New Zealand captain has scored just 20 runs off 24 balls against the spinner. He will hope to improve that record in this IPL season.