Legendary pacer Wasim Akram, has alerted Sunrisers Hyderabad from the bowlers of Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of Qualifier 1 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. KKR finished with a NRR of 1.428 and were number one in the points table. The Knight Riders played as one unit and excelled in both the batting and bowling departments to establish their dominance.

Even though SRH used a very similar methodology, their batting unit was a little more aggressive. Nevertheless, they will have a difficult task against KKR because of their strong bowling attack. In their league match, Shreyas Iyer and co were victorious at Eden Gardens with a nail-biting 4-run win.

Since the beginning of the season, Akram has praised the KKR bowling attack for their ability to perform as a collective unit rather than depending on any one player’s exceptional skill to win games.

“One of the key reasons (KKR finishing first in the points table) is their bowling. There are bowlers who take wickets. The teams that claim wickets will emerge victorious in the games. As you can see, Mitchell Starc has 12, Chakravarthy has 18, and Harshit Rana has 16. The all-rounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have 15. They also won the game because of Starc’s heroics. They undoubtedly represent a cool, collected, and extremely dangerous side in the league,” remarked Akram.

For KKR, Gautam Gambhir’s return as a mentor has been fruitful. The two-time IPL champions’ former captain instructed the players to play fearless brand of cricket.

In addition, Shreyas Iyer has performed admirably as captain, exhibiting charge in his field placements and bowling adjustments.

“Almost every player has delivered, “Manish Pandey got one game and he also delivered. That demonstrates that everyone is happy and confident. They are aggressive. They lack arrogance or overconfidence,” he continued.

The former Pakistani bowler further said that Phil Salt’s absence would have an impact on the table-toppers. The Englishman has returned home for national team duties, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz is expected to take his spot in the lineup for the playoffs.

“Undoubtedly, they will be impacted by Phil Salt’s departure,” Akram added.

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