IPL 2021: SRH vs KKR: 5 Player battles

David Warner’s men will be up against Eoin Morgan and Co. on April 11.

The two experienced campaigners will lead vastly diverse sides in IPL 2021 (File photo)

Rashi Bhattacharyya

Updated: 11 April 2021 2:30 AM GMT

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to meet in Chennai for the third match of IPL 2021.

The teams have faced each other 19 times in the IPL. While KKR has won 12 matches, SRH won the remaining 7.

Last year, KKR continued their dominance over SRH and beat them twice.

Nevertheless, whenever these two franchises meet, fans can expect a good match and some great one-on-one battles between star players. Here are five for you to look out for.

#5 Jonny Bairstow vs Pat Cummins

Jonny Bairstow is in spectacular form after the series against India. Although Wriddhiman Saha did a better job than him the last time around, the Englishman's current form may warrant him a spot against KKR.

If he does end up playing in the first match, his biggest challenge will be KKR's lead pacer, Pat Cummins. In IPL, Bairstow has managed to score 8 runs off 15 balls from Cummins, in which the Australian dismissed him once.

Cummins also knows how to get the better of Bairstow. During a 2020 match between Australia and England, the pacer put an end to Bairstow excellent innings with an off-spin delivery. He repeated the same move against the batsman during IPL 2020 as well.

Pat Cummins - Australian off-spinner 😎 #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/YoIh8qGZFI
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) September 16, 2020

#4 David Warner vs Varun Chakravarthy

SRH skipper David Warner is the team's most successful player against KKR. So far, he has amassed 829 runs from 21 matches at a strike rate of 147.77 against them. As the league's fourth-highest run-scorer with 4,712 runs, Warner will definitely want to start firing right from the beginning against KKR.

On the other hand, there is Varun Chakravarthy who would be KKR's prominent spinner after his last year's breakout performance. This mystery spinner has many tricks up his sleeve (quite literally) and might be the one to tame Warner.

As of now, Warner has scored 9 runs off the 8 balls by Chakravarthy, who has picked up a total of 18 wickets in IPL. The spinner also dismissed Warner last year with a stunning caught and bowled effort. After some fitness issues, Chakravarthy is back in action and carried out yet another caught and bowled affair during one of the practice matches.

BLINDER! 🤯

🎥 @chakaravarthy29 did THIS in our final practice game before the season...#KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/ll7uHs6jxd
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 10, 2021

#3 Eoin Morgan vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar

As one of the best captains in the white-ball format, Eoin Morgan will have the responsibility of taking KKR to their third title. Along with leading the team, he will also play a crucial role in the middle order.

Morgan recently missed out on the last 2 ODIs against India due to an injury and would be looking to make a spectacular comeback for KKR as well as England's T20 World Cup campaign.

Against him will be SRH's most successful bowler against KKR, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The Indian pacer has taken 136 wickets in 121 IPL matches among which 27 are of KKR. Since the 31-year-old missed most of the last edition after sustaining the injury, he will be raring to go big this season.

#2 Shubman Gill vs Rashid Khan

21-year-old Shubman Gill will be in the spotlight once again as one of KKR's most important batsman. His recent 76*off 35 balls during an intra-squad practice game earlier this week is proof that he is all set to trouble the opposition in IPL 2021.

As SRH's go-to spinner during IPL 2020, Rashid Khan controlled the matches in the middle overs and picked crucial wickets. Till now, he has taken 75 wickets in 62 matches.

Given how well Shubman Gill tackles spin, it would be interesting to see them face each other in the upcoming match. According to their head-to-head record, Shubman has scored 22 runs off 26 balls by Rashid, who in return has dismissed the former once.

#1 Kane Williamson vs Lockie Ferguson

The cool, calm, and composed Kane Williamson is a valuable asset for SRH. The 30-year-old played a significant role in helping SRH make the playoffs last season with his three half-centuries.

Meanwhile, his compatriot Lockie Ferguson had a terrific IPL 2020. After his amazing 3/15 figures against SRH last season, he is expected to repeat such spells in the upcoming match.

Since they have been playing together for New Zealand, both of them may have a better idea of each other's capabilities, which makes this potential battle all the more exciting.

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