Moneyball9 Fantasy Tips: Eliminator - Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders

So we have our first knockout game of the tournament as Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator. The Sunrisers will be absolutely livid that they are actually playing this contest as they were comfortably placed in the top two for a long time before slipping in the end. So David Warner would definitely want to make amends against a team that beat them in their last league game. So how will you lineup your fantasy team for this important tie? Will Russell make the cut? Here’s an analysis:

Batsmen:

Sunrisers batting line-up has mostly been about their openers. David Warner in particular has been very consistent and he will be more than just determined to take his side to the next round. The added responsibility could work in their favour and he could deliver on the big night. So leaving him out could prove to be costly. Dhawan has been timing the ball too good off late as well and you sense he could come up with a big one too. So picking both their openers does make a lot of sense.

Gautam Gambhir has been consistent this season as well but you can still count on him to not damage your fantasy team massively, so leaving him out wont’ hurt you. Manish Pandey is another name one can consider but you can pick only him or Dhawan and the final call should be taken by the user. Yusuf Pathan’s consistency makes him a certainty as well especially after he scored a half-century against the same side. Suryakumar Yadav can be your flexible player as he can provide some lusty blows in the end and he might also earn a promotion in the batting order again.

Wicket-keeper batsman:

Naman Ojha could have been considered since he is also available on the cheap. He was sent in at number three last time around but he put on a very painful show with the bat. So with a cloud of uncertainty revolving over him, the safe option would be Robin Uthappa. Robin will cost an user 7500 rupees. He looked in great touch last game before getting dismissed in a tame fashion. Back him to show a bit more consistency on the big day to keep his team fighting in the tournament.

All-rounder:

So Andre Russell is fit and ready to roll. But the question is will he be rusty? Are KKR rushing him? Will he be at his 100% to deliver the goods? Remember, he is going to cost you 10,000 rupees so you should pick him only if you are sure about his match fitness. Also, picking him would hit your team on other areas since you will be weakened financially. As a result you may have to drop Uthappa or Warner or Dhawan and accommodate someone else who will be available cheaper.

Henriques is another option for the all-rounder spot and even though he hasn’t done well in this tournament compared to the previous edition where he starred with both bat and ball, one can pick him if you are ready to gamble big time. If it works you will be ahead of the rest of the pack. Else, you can go safe and pick Shakib Al Hasan., who will cost the user the same amount of money.

Bowlers:

Barindar Sran is a must! Not because he is assured of stepping up but because of the fact that he costs only 3000 and he has had a decent tournament so far. Having already picked some superstars, you definitely cannot afford to pick both Mustafizur and Narine in the same team. You will have to drop one and considering the fact that the Knight Riders played the Bangladeshi seamer quite well, you may well opt for Narine who picked three wickets.

Kuldeep Yadav is another option after he picked up two wickets against the same opposition at a crucial stage of the game. He is likely to keep Chawla out of the playing XI. Bhuvneshwar is another safe pick but there are budget constraints yet again, so you will have to sacrifice on some other department in order to pick him.

My ideal team: Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine and Barindar Sran.

DISCLAIMER: The article just contains suggestions and Sportskeeda are not responsible or liable for the outcome.