The returning South Africans will present selection headaches to both camps but Sunrisers Hyderabad will be keener to welcome them when it takes on Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana cricket stadium here on Friday.
The South African trio of captain Aiden Markram, Henrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen will give the necessary ammunition for the Sunrisers to seriously mount a challenge against the Giants.
After floundering against spin in the last match against Chennai Super Kings, the Giants will look to cash on to the home advantage. Kyle Mayers has been a revelation as an opener, but captain K.L. Rahul hasn’t fired, and his side needs to improve the middle overs batting to put up more than a par score against the Sunrisers.
The availability of Quinton de Kock will force a tweak in the batting order. Mark Wood and Ravi Bishnoi were exceptional, but other bowlers will have to put in a more disciplined effort.
The Sunrisers looked out of sorts against Rajasthan Royals, but the team has put the bad loss behind it and is primed to face Giants in its backyard. Skipper Markram said the key was to replicate the good things his team did in the first match and play positively against the Giants.
The Sunrisers’ bowling for a major part of Royal’s innings was mediocre, but T. Natarajan and Fazalhaq Farooqi’s teasing spells at the death will give hope to the visitors.
Markaram would also like to see a more evocative response from his batters after a timid approach against the Royals. Harry Brooks struggled against the Royals, but his team would want him to hit top gear early against the Giants.
Comments
SHARE