Bolstered by South African players, Super Giants and Sunrisers clash

Let’s rock: While de Kock will look to fire at the top of the order, Markram will be keen to lead Sunrisers from the front
Sportzpics/IPL
| Photo Credit: Sportzpics/IPL

The recently arrived South Africans will present selection headaches to both camps but Sunrisers Hyderabad will be more keen to welcome them when it takes on Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Friday.

The trio of captain Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen will give the necessary ammunition for Sunrisers to seriously mount a challenge on Super Giants.

After floundering against spin in the last match against Chennai Super Kings, Super Giants will look to cash in on to the home advantage.

Revelation

Kyle Mayers has been a revelation as opener, but captain K.L. Rahul hasn’t fired and his side needs to improve its middle-overs batting to put up a challenging total against 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.

Sunrisers looked out of sorts against Rajasthan Royals but the team has put the bad loss behind it and is primed to face Super Giants in their backyard.

Skipper Markram said the key was to replicate the good things his team did in the first match and play positively against the Lucknow side.

Medicore

Sunrisers’ bowling for major part of the Royal’s innings was mediocre but T. Natarajan and Fazalhaq Farooqi’s teasing spells at the death will give hope to the visitors. Markram would also like to see a more evocative response from his batters after a timid approach against Royals.

Harry Brooks struggled against Royals but his team would want him to hit top gear early against Super Giants.