IPL 2021: SRH Pacers Have Experience To Make Good Use Of Chennai Conditions; Rashid Khan Can Cause A Lot Of Trouble For KKR - Ashish Nehra

Former India pacer, Ashish Nehra speaks in praise of the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers as David Warner’s side take on Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday in Chennai, where the opening game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore took place.

Ashish Nehra points out that the square boundaries are sizeable at the Chepauk which is in favour of the bowlers, especially spinners.

He opined that despite the dew, the ball held on the surface in the first game as the seamers took advantage of the stickiness of the pitch – Harshal Patel took a five-for; Jasprit Bumrah and Marco Jansen picked 2 wickets each – unline that in the second match between Delhi and Chennai at Wankhede where due helped the chasing team plentiful.

“As we saw in the first game, the square boundaries are big. The ball did get wet (due to dew) but the ball was still holding up on this pitch, unlike the Wankhede (in Mumbai). We saw it with seamers as well.

“Talk about Dan Christian, Kyle Jamieson, and even Harshal Patel, who was still pulling off the slower balls with a wet ball,” Ashish Nehra told Cricbuzz.

If the ball is dry, then Rashid Khan can cause a lot of trouble for KKR: Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra reckons Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who recently made a successful comeback in the matches against England, and T Natarajan, who bowled most yorkers last season and taken huge strides in international cricket, are experienced enough to make full use of the conditions on offer at the Chepauk.

The 41-year-old former CSK and SRH seamer is confident that Rashid Khan will exploit any, even little, assistance from the pitch and make life difficult for the KKR batters.

Both teams face healthy selection conundrums with multiple options available for different roles. KKR haven’t qualified for the playoffs in the last couple of season – both the times they were pipped by Sunriders on net run rate.

“So, bowlers like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and Natarajan have enough experience to make good use of the conditions. Especially, Rashid Khan. If the ball is dry, then he can cause a lot of trouble for KKR,” the 2011 World Cup winner asserted.

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