The 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) season heads into match 39 with Sunrisers Hyderabad set to host Kolkata Knight Riders in the second game of Sunday’s double-header.
As fans, watching the action is not the only thing to look forward to – IPL fantasy games mean you have the opportunity to get involved as well.
As the IPL’s official partner, Dream11 runs a daily contest for each game apart from the default format which is conducted per round.
Here, we focus on helping you navigate your way through the former.
BATSMAN
David Warner – Sunrisers Hyderabad (11 credits)
Five fifties and one excellent ton are David Warner’s returns in eight innings so far following his return to the IPL after a one-year absence.
No other overseas batsman has quite stamped his authority on the competition like the Australian who is now on the verge of bringing up 4,500 runs in the IPL.
Warner has been averaging a staggering 75 with the bat in the ongoing campaign while his strike-rate has remained above 145. It seemed that the Aussie opener had gone off the boil after registering scores of 10 and 15 but he has responded strongly with three half-centuries on the trot in the run up to Sunday’s clash.
With the stay of Australia’s World Cup players in the IPL coming to an end soon, Warner will be even more determined to pile on the runs before he makes his exit.
WATCH: David Warner's quick-fire 50(25) 👏🔥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2019
📽️📽️https://t.co/hvfEDewViz #SRH pic.twitter.com/TQDLWuxOwM
BOWLER
Rashid Khan – Sunrisers Hyderabad (9 credits)
The Afghanistan star has not been as prolific as he would like to be in the 2019 campaign which has seen him fetch eight wickets in as many matches.
However, it is worth noting that Rashid’s formidable T20 reputation has seen opposition batsmen treat him with plenty of respect and that has shown in his terrific economy-rate of just 5.59.
The No1 ranked T20 bowler in the world is a livewire on the field while also being a handy bat and that should always see him remain among the points.
And should a situation arise that KKR’s batsmen are forced to take him on due to scoreboard pressure, expect Rashid to then swell his wicket-tally by some margin.
ALL-ROUNDER
Andre Russell – Kolkata Knight Riders (10.5 credits)
The West Indies all-rounder is the only KKR pick in our fantasy recommendations and it is somewhat befitting given that he has largely been a one-man army for the franchise this campaign.
The Andre Russell show refuses to end just yet in the IPL this year with the KKR man once again raining down the sixes in a power-packed display on Friday which saw him strike nine sixes in a 25-ball 65 against RCB.
It means that Russell has failed to score at least 45 runs only once in the eight innings he has played so far with his tournament tally now extending to 377.
An incredible 234 of those runs have come through sixes (39) alone with several IPL bowling attacking already pulverised into oblivion. Not many bowlers have been spared the wrath of the Windies man who has chipped in with seven wickets with the ball as well to boot.
His fitness might have Windies and KKR fans concerned but Russell was still tonking the ball all across the park on Friday despite being in visible discomfort.
Whatever the result tonight, the things that Andre Russell is doing with the bat in this #VivoIPL is simply astonishing and remarkable. Almost every game. His range of scoring and power hitting has evolved even more than a year ago.
— ian bishop (@irbishi) April 19, 2019
WICKETKEEPER
Jonny Bairstow – Sunrisers Hyderabad (10 credits)
While Warner has been excellent at the top for Hyderabad, his opening partner Jonny Bairstow has almost matched him step-for-step.
The England wicketkeeper batsman has managed to score 365 runs so far in eight innings at an average greater than 52 while his strike-rate has been better than Warner’s at 153.36.
Like his opening partner, Bairstow too has bounced back from a minor blip with the bat with scores of 41 and 61 not out in his most recent outings. England’s World Cup players too will be making their way back soon so Bairstow will want to pack a punch in his remaining engagements for the franchise.
CAPTAIN – Andre Russell
VICE CAPTAIN – Jonny Bairstow
