The Sunrisers Hyderabad overcame an in-form KKR side by defeating them by a close margin of 13 runs. They will now have to beat the mighty Chennai Super Kings in order to lift the IPL trophy. The Sunrisers have faced CSK thrice this season and have not won a single game.
Tom Moody and Kane Williamson will obviously need to change a few things in order to clear this final hurdle. Here are the 3 squad changes which might get the orange army over the line.
#1 Khaleel Ahmed OUT, Sandeep Sharma IN
Khaleel Ahmed had a very poor outing against KKR in the Qualifier. The youngster was not able to control his nerves throughout the game. He got his lengths completely wrong and was not able to create the necessary pressure.
Nitish Rana took complete advantage of Ahmed's poor form and hit him for two sixes in the same over. Ahmed also had a couple of misfields in the game. On the other hand, Sandeep Sharma had been bowling quite well and it was surprising to see him left out before the game.
Williamson might have to call Sandeep back in order to give the team an extra swing option. Moreover, Sandeep was very handy in the last game against the CSK as he took the important wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar.
SRH will have to go back to their original combination in order to pose a bigger challenge to CSK and getting Sandeep in would be a step in the right direction.
#2 Yusuf Pathan OUT, Shreevats Goswami IN
Yusuf Pathan has been in terrible form lately. He has thrown his wicket cheaply due to his poor shot selection. Thus, the men in orange require the services of Shreevats Goswami.
More than Goswami's batting skills, Hyderabad need the youngster to keep the wickets for the team. Wriddhiman Saha, who has just returned from an injury was below par behind the wickets in the game against KKR. Saha dropped two important catches of Chris Lynn and Andre Russell which would have proved costly for the team.
It is important to keep Saha in the team as he batted decently in the game against KKR. Moreover, Saha has the experience of playing in an IPL Final. Saha struck an important century for Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 Final leading them to a 200 plus total. Thus, it would make sense for SRH to go into the final with two wicket keepers.
#3 Mohammad Nabi IN, Carlos Braithwaite OUT
This team selection might raise a few eyebrows. Carlos Braithwaite has not performed poorly but he still remains the weakest bowler in the line up. Although he took two wickets in the final over against KKR in the qualifier, he also leaked runs.
It was his 18th over against CSK which shifted the momentum towards the Super Kings in the first qualifier. The inclusion of Nabi in the bowling attack will be a surprise element. CSK will not be ready for Nabi's inclusion.
Nabi's spin can act as a wildcard for Williamson. A disciplined showing with both the bat and the ball from the Afghan might make all the difference in the end.
What do you think about these changes? Will these changes help SRH bag the IPL Trophy? Have your say in the comments section below!
Looking for fast live cricket scores? Download CricRocket and get fast score updates, top-notch commentary in-depth match stats & much more! 🚀☄️