IPL 2021, 3rd Match SRH vs KKR Probable Playing XI: Who Will Open With Warner?

In the 3rd Match of the IPL 2021, Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH) will be playing against Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) to open their season campaign on Sunday. 

SRH has a variety of options in the top order to choose from. David Warner could ask Wridhiman Saha to open, a position where the wicket-keeper batsman has done well in the past. Jonny Bairstow is the other option that could open and give the team a powerful start. 

If Bairstow plays, then there will be a tossup between Kane Williamson and Mohammad Nabi since SRH lacks a decent finisher and the Afghanistan all-rounder can provide a few overs with spin as well. Manish Pandey will be the key player for Hyderabad in the middle-order. 

Rashid Khan will be X-factor since he can play a good little cameo with the bat and will be breathing fire with the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading the pace bowling department with T Natarajan as his deputy. 

Kolkata Knight Riders look like a balanced team on paper. Their top-order is most likely to be an Indian trio of Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, and Nitish Rana. Shakib Al Hasan will be the key player with both bat as well as the ball. Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, and Andre Russell will be their finishers with Sunil Narine coming in at number 8. 

KKR has a young bowling attack with Prasidh Krishna as the lead pacer while either Kamlesh Nagarkoti or Shivam Mavi as the second seamer. Varun Chakravarthy will be crucial in the middle-overs. 

Kolkata Knight Riders have an upper hand over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past. KKR is looking more balanced on the paper than SRH and it would take something special from Hyderabad to beat them. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad - David Warner(C), Jonny Bairstow(WK), Kane Williamson/ Mohammad Nabi, Manish Pandey, Abdul Samad/Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Shahbaz Nadeem/Jagadeesh Suchith 

Kolkata Knight Riders - Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan(C), Dinesh Karthik(WK), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Varun Chakravarthy