Morgan will be looking for Knights resurrection

Hat-tricks are one of the most sought after commodities in cricket. But there are some that aren’t. And Kolkata Knight Riders will be more than willing to forego the one in which they miss out on making the playoffs of the IPL for a third-straight season.

Eoin Morgan and Co. will have steeled themselves to do all they can in their control to force their way to the knockout phase, but first they must negotiate a tricky rival in their tournament opener in the David Warner-led Sunrisers Hyderabad who were solid in the last edition, as they made the playoffs for the fifth-straight time.

And despite KKRs resolve, the Sunrisers are definitely not going to be pushovers. Their core has been intact and Warner is technically sound as a captain and a leader who leads by example.

The Australian left hander has been a massive contributor over the years with the bat for the Deccan outfit and is an integral part of one of the most potent top-orders in the blink-and-you-miss format. When SRH take the crease, Warner should open in the company of the in-form Jonny Bairstow, with Kane Williamson and Manish Pandey adding to the potency of the top order.

And while the talk has always been about the top half of the batting line up, SRH have lacked a proper finisher, which has often let them down over the years.

Morgan helped turn around KKRs fortunes midway through last season. After taking over the captaincy from Dinesh Karthik, Morgan helped a lowly KKR outfit finish on the same points as SRH and RCB who progressed on the basis of a better run-rate. And with the English skipper back at the helm, things are bound to be better. He will after all be looking to build on that performance and help the Purple Brigade buck their trend of missing the playoffs.

Like SRH, KKR have a vigorous batting line up, with Shubman Gill their fantastic young top-order batsman capable of easily shifting gears in the company of Rahul.