Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20: Round 1, Elite Group A, Karnataka vs Hyderabad, Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The Round 1 match in the Elite Group A of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 will be played between Karnataka and Hyderabad at the Alur Cricket Stadium in Bangalore.

The match starts at 9:00 AM local time (IST) (3:30 AM GMT)

Preview:

Karnataka will play their first match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 on the opening day of the tournament against Hyderabad. The Karnataka team won the 2017/18 edition but failed to get into the knockouts in the 2018/19 season. They will now play Hyderabad against whom they have not lost since 2003 in a One-Day game. The two sides faced off in 14 List A matches with Karnataka winning in 13 while another match ended in a Tie.

However, Hyderabad have been consistent since the comeback of their current captain Ambati Rayudu. They made it to the quarter-finals in 2017/18 only to lose against Karnataka. In the previous edition, Hyderabad qualified to the semi-final but lost to Mumbai by a big margin. Their skipper Rayudu announced retirement from all formats after the World Cup snub but reversed his decision a week before squad announcement.

Weather Condition/Report:

Scattered Thunderstorms are predicted for Tuesday in Alur. The chances of rain keep increasing from 10 AM local team. There could be rain interruptions throughout the game.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The Alur Cricket Stadium hasn’t been a high-scoring venue during the previous Vijay Hazare Trophy. In 8 matches in that tournament, only three times the batting first side posted 250+. In six out of 8 matches the chasing teams won but only one of them was a 250+ chase. Slightly better track could be seen on Tuesday with teams scoring up to 250.

Average first innings score: 230 (Vijay Hazare Trophy matches in 2018/19 season)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 6, Lost – 2

Injury and Availability News:

(Will be added when there is an update)

Probable Playing XIs:

Karnataka:

KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, KV Siddharth, Manish Pandey (C), Pavan Deshpande, Sharath Srinivas (WK), Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Abhimanyu Mithun, Prasidh Krishna, Ronit More.

Bench: Pravin Dubey, Abhishek Reddy, Jagadeesha Suchith, V Koushik.

Hyderabad:

P Akshath Reddy, Tanmay Agarwal, Rohit Rayudu, B Sandeep, Ambati Rayudu (C), Thakur Tilak Verma, J Mallikarjun (wk), T Ravi Teja, CV Milind, Mehdi Hasan, Mohammed Siraj.

Bench: Karthikeya Kak, Mickl Jaiswal, Ajay Dev Goud, Saket Sai Ram.

Top Picks:

In his 16-match List A career for Hyderabad, K Rohit Rayudu has scored 755 runs at an average of 58.08. He scored three fifties and three hundreds including an unbeaten 121 during the previous edition semi-final against Mumbai. In the previous two seasons, B Sandeep also has similar numbers with the bat. He scored 683 runs at an average of 52.54 by scoring six fifties in 16 innings.

He is expected to bowl more overs in this season filling the gap of the 5th bowler. The Karnataka top-order batsmen Devdutt Padikkal and KV Siddharth have got the technique to excel in all conditions. The duo were successful with the bat during the recently concluded KPL which will give them the boost ahead of their maiden appearances in List A format. KL Rahul will be hoping to continue his World Cup success and get back into the Indian XI soon.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Krishnappa Gowtham, Rohit Rayudu, KL Rahul, B Sandeep, Pavan Deshpande

Vice-Captain – P Akshath Reddy, CV Milind, Devdutt Padikkal, KV Siddharth, Thakur Tilak Verma

Krishnappa Gowtham bagged 24 wickets across 15 matches in the previous two editions of Vijay Hazare Trophy. He wasn’t that effective with the bat in those tournament. But his recent form with the bat gives hopes of him being consistent at scoring 30s and 40s at least.

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – KL Rahul

Batsmen – Rohit Rayudu (VC), Akshath Reddy, KV Siddharth, Manish Pandey

All-Rounders – B Sandeep, Pavan Deshpande, Krishnappa Gowtham (C)

Bowlers – Shreyas Gopal, CV Milind, Mohammed Siraj

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – KL Rahul (C)

Batsmen – Ambati Rayudu, Devdutt Padikkal, Manish Pandey, Thakur Tilak Verma

All-Rounders – B Sandeep (VC), Krishnappa Gowtham

Bowlers – Mehdi Hasan, Shreyas Gopal, T Ravi Teja, Prasidh Krishna

Expert Advice:

Manish Pandey and Ambati Rayudu might be restricted to scoring a good 50-60 runs. Rayudu generally bats at No.5 or No.6 for Hyderabad while Pandey could be seen shuffling around Karnataka’s batting line-up.

On the other hand, Thakur Tilak Verma scored a brilliant hundred during the recently concluded Youth Asia Cup and also impressed captain Rayudu. He has great numbers in One-Dayers but might not find a place straight away. Since he could bowl spin, the management could look to pick him ahead of the spin all-rounder Saket Sai Ram. to He could bat at No.3 or No.4 along with Rohit Rayudu.

Probable Winners:

Hyderabad could pip Karnataka to register their first One-Day win after 17 years.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.