In match Match 8 of 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), skipper Dinesh Karthik's tactical nous will once again be put to test when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on a depleted Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Much was expected from a revamped KKR set-up but it seemed Karthik did not learn from his past mistakes and made some inexplicable decisions that led to its complete capitulation against Mumbai Indians.
Check 2020 IPL latest news and live score updates from 7:30 pm onwards here
Russell's batting position in question again
Once again, the batting position of KKR's biggest hitter Andre Russell became the talking point in 49-run loss to Mumbai Indians.
The Jamaican, who was its highest run-getter last season with 510 runs from 249 deliveries and the tournament's highest strike rate of 204.81, was seen at No 6 but by then the task had become extremely difficult.
World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan, who was roped in to bolster the wobbly middle order, also could not do much as the asking rate had shot past 13 by the time he came to bat at No 5.
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Karthik's tactical blunders
In bowling too, there was a tactical blunder by holding back its ace spinner Sunil Narine till the last over of power play.
On a day, Kolkata's biggest buy Pat Cummins failed miserably, Narine was given a go only when his IPL 'bunny' Rohit Sharma was well set.
It really defied logic to see such a defensive strategy by a team now coached by Kiwi great Brendon Mccullum who is known for his aggressive mindset.
Sunrisers Hyderabad team news
Known to put up a balanced side on the park, Hyderabad lacked strength and experience in its middle-order, failing miserably against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Needing just 43 runs from last five overs, SRH lost its last seven wickets for 32 runs to lose the game by 10 runs.
If that was not enough, injury to its all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has compounded the misery.
Skipper David Warner, after being run out in an unfortunate manner at the non-striker's end, will be keen to get into the act, while it remains to be seen whether Kane Williamson has recovered from his injury to bolster the batting department.
SRH bowling has always been impressive and it seems the think tank may bring in Mohammed Nabi to bowl alongside his fellow mate Rashid Khan while Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead the pace attack.
Here are th squads of both the teams:
KKR squad for IPL 2020: Dinesh Karthik (captain & wicketkeeper), Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton (Wicketkeeper), Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik (Wicketkeeper), Ali Khan.
SRH squad for IPL 2020: David Warner (Captain), Jonny Bairstow (Wicketkeeper), Kane Williamson, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mitchell Marsh, Fabian Allen, Vijay Shankar, Sanjay Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (Wicketkeeper), Shreevats Goswami (Wicketkeeper), Bavanaka Sandeep, Basil Thampi, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma.
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