MI vs SRH in IPL 2021: David Warner & Co desperately desperately need a win and the man touted to end SRH’s losing streak is Kane Williamson. But to Sunrisers’ dismay, their star batsman will not be available for another week. Williamson on Thursday gave injury update to fans saying he will be “fit and ready” within a week. “Recovery is going is well and you know its been focused to get pain free as quickly, and we are certainly tracking really nicely and hoping to be fit and ready within the week,” he said. So, without their star player, can they finally come over middle-order conundrum against Mumbai Indians (MI)?
Kane Williamson gives us an update on his recovery.#OrangeOrNothing #OrangeArmy #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/BP77O28Akk
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 16, 2021
MI vs SRH in IPL 2021: Why is Kane Williamson important?
Williamson is part of current generations ‘Fab 4’, alongside Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Joe Root. Among a host of virtues, he brings consistency and composure. He might be a natural Test batsman, but his prowess to adapt to any style of cricket has been on display on multiple occasions.
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- In IPL, his average is nearly 40 with a strike rate of 134. To put it in perspective, Virat ‘Run Machine’ Kohli’s strike rate in IPL is 130.
- Just like the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper, Williamson loves playing classical cricketing shots. Of late, he has also added a variety of sweeps too.
- He also provides composure in an otherwise explosive SRH batting line-up, which plays an important role while chasing.
- Also, with a cricketing mind like his, Warner would be happy to pick his mind during difficult situations.
SRH Playing XI vs RCB in IPL 2021: But where would Kane Williamson fit?
Ideally, as an opener, where he could fully take advantage of powerplay without undue risks, he would be a perfect partner for a power-hitter like David Warner. If Williamson moves up, it would naturally push other a spot down.
However, it would keep changing as per the match situations. But with him in the scheme of things, there is some dept. Wriddhiman Saha will become SRH’s No.3, followed by Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow. It would avoid the situation of a humdrum Mohammad Nabi walking in at No 5.
With only Warner and Rashid Khan being certainties among the overseas players, a fit Williamson is a must for SRH, factoring in his prowess against spin bowling.
On a track like Chepauk, at times it becomes imperative to play as late as possible and use the depth of the crease well, which Williamson is adept at.
Teams (from): Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Aditya Tare, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.
SRH: David Warner (C), Kane Williamson, Virat Singh, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Sreevats Goswami, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Kedar Jadhav, J Suchit, Jason Holder, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mujeeb ur Rahman.
Match starts: 7.30pm.
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