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Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016, Match 34: Brendon McCullum vs Mustafizur Rahman and other major clashes

Some key clashes are in store for fans and cricket aficionados alike in this 34th match of IPL 9.

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Mustafizur Rahaman will have to figure out a way to tame Brendon McCullum (above) © AFP
Mustafizur Rahman will have to figure out a way to tame down Brendon McCullum (above) © AFP

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Gujarat Lions (GL) will battle it out at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, in Match 34 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 on Friday. GL have been quite good in the tournament though they lost their last game played against Delhi Daredevils (DD) by 8 wickets. For Sunrisers, the tournament has been mixed; they could have got better results. Some key clashes are in store for fans and cricket aficionados alike in this 34th match of IPL 9.  In a regular scenario we may see Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni bowl to David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan at the start, but the probability of Sunrisers opening with spinner Shivil Kaushik cannot be ruled out. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016, Match 34 at Hyderabad 

The chinaman bowler Kaushik was impressive in his last game. As for the batting, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina will have to turn up against Ashish Nehra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman. Here is a glance at the major clashes of the match.

1. Brendon McCullum vs Mustafizur Rahman: Left-arm pacer Mustafizur will be tested when he bowls to one of the most feared batsmen of the tournament and in international cricket for the last decade, Brendon McCullum. Mustafizur is very talented, but when he comes to bowl at McCullum, he will have to make sure that he keeps the control over his cutters. He has to pitch in the right areas as everyone knows that McCullum can tear apart any bowling attack on a given day making it critical for a bowler like him to have the right line and length. This is the bare minimum requirement. The batter’s muscular power coupled with good timing can be nightmarish. McCullum has far more experience than Mustafizur which may play a role in the game.

2. David Warner vs Shivil Kaushik: If Shivil Kaushik gets to bowl with the new ball, he will be up against the very special Australian southpaw David Warner. Shivil, who has a rather strange bowling action, has troubled the batsmen on numerous occasions in this ninth season of the league. It looks like an even battle. Whichever cricketer better judges the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses will ultimately benefit. It will be interesting to witness if Warner triumphs in this battle or not.

3. Yuvraj Singh vs Praveen Kumar: Yuvraj Singh is one of sweetest timers of the cricket ball when he gets going. He will be hoping to regain form through this match. We may see him batting against Praveen if Sunrisers lose early wickets. The bowler certainly has the upper hand, but Yuvraj just needs one game to get into the groove, and if he does in his first game of this IPL season, Praveen may have a tough time

4. Dinesh Karthik vs Barinder Sran: Karthik played a fine innings of 53 in his previous match. Sran is in good bowling form as well. This is another major battle which can turn the match on its head. Karthik is batting prudently, and is brilliantly judging the bowler’s mind as it was perceived in the last game. He played the pull, a few pre-meditated shots and even advanced down the pitch against Delhi. Cramping Karthik for room will be one of the focus areas for Sran.

(Bhaskar Narayan is a reporter at CricketCountry and Criclife. He passionately follows the game and is a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. His Twitter handle is @Cricopathy)

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