Russell's return gives KKR the edge in eliminator

Sunrisers Hyderabad had the top spot in the points table with two games left. Kolkata Knight Riders were behind them. One bad game was enough to turn the tables, with both sides losing an opportunity to have a second crack at the final. After being comprehensively beaten by Knight Riders on a rank turner in Kolkata, Sunrisers will be hoping for a turn in fortunes in the eliminator, on what is expected to be another slow Feroz Shah Kotla surface.

 

Sunrisers' fielding lapses consigned them to a last-ball loss against Delhi Daredevils before they lost to Knight Riders. Knight Riders were thumped by six wickets on a green surface by Gujarat Lions in Kanpur, but banked on home advantage to win their final game and finish fourth.

 

Knight Riders could be buoyed by the return of their MVP, nay T20's MVP, Andre Russell, who missed the last two games because of a leg injury. He could be rusty, though, and a tad worn out as a part of the Knight Riders squad arrived in Delhi by road from Jaipur on Tuesday morning, after their flight had to be diverted because of bad weather. Having already won the Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League and World T20, Russell has an opportunity to lay his hands on a fifth T20 title in six months.

 

But to say Knight Riders are only about Russell would be misleading. In his absence, the middle order had mixed power with smarts. Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey used an off-stump guard to hit against the spin of Karn Sharma and the cutters of Mustafizur Rahman in Kolkata. The Knight Riders spinners then left Sunrisers' weak middle order in a straightjacket, after David Warner had a rare failure. If Warner fails again in the eliminator, can the middle order find an escape route?

 

 

 

Source: ESPNCricinfo