The defending champions will be looking to bounce back here after losing their first match against Chennai Super Kings. They take on ever-strong Kolkata Knight Riders who once again will being their IPL campaign as one of the favourites.
This pitch is a bit sluggish and supposed to get slower with time making it difficult for the batters. Having said that, both the teams have an equal number of power-hitters who doesn’t really care about the conditions and can go crazy on their day. 160 is supposed to be a good score here.
Must-have-
Both Quinton de Kock and Dinesh Karthik will be vital for their respective teams.
Shubman Gill’s talent doesn’t need any introduction. If he can adapt to the conditions early, he sure will be one of the best performers here. One can also go ahead with Suryakumar Yadav instead of Gill.
Tom Banton, if given a chance, can prove vital for his team. This youngster scored five sixes in an over some eight months ago. His rise has been phenomenal in recent times though he is yet to score some big runs for England.
Eoin Morgan is one of the best captaincy picks available in this line-up. The newly named Vice-captain averages more than 38 since 2019 and can be a good pick here.
Prasidh Krishna is a tricky bowler to face. While things can go either way for him, he can be a good pick, thanks to his credits.
James Pattinson had a decent IPL debut. He certainly was a bit nervous but did well to pick a wicket. He can also swing his bat for a few quick runs.
Rohit Sharma, once again, will be a decent pick here. However, it will be interesting to see how he takes on spinners.
Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are in decent touch. Russell wasn’t full of himself in the CPL2020 but still did well and had a strike-rate over 141. Narine, on the other hand, had to miss out a few games due to Kidney stone removal surgery. In the limited games he played, he did well with the ball and was a bit decent with the bat. If he is playing in the powerplay here, he will have it easier because of the pace. The combination of Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar might work here.
Trent Boult had a good start to IPL 2020 with a wicket. He can be crucial here as well. So is Kieron Pollard. The latter is in good form but struggled against CSK.
Fantasy Team- These are just predictions. Might fail miserably. Try at your own risk.
Q Kock, S Gill/S Yadav, R Sharma, E Morgan, N Rana/ S Tiwary, D Karthik/K Pollard, A Russell, J Pattinson/ K Yadav, R Chahar, T Boult
