IPL 2022: GT vs SRH: Bowlers will decide outcome, Natarajan is the key: Kaif

“T Natarajan is a big challenge for Hardik Pandya (GT skipper) because he discovered 2-3 types of new bowling making the ball swing inside as well as outside. He is yorker king for sure, but Natarajan looks different this year with the changes and new things that he has discovered,” Kaif said in the Cricket Live show on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2022.

Natarajan has been a revelation in IPL 2022 with his clever variations and change of pace.

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And ahead of Match 41 of IPL 2022 where SRH take on the Hardik-led GT, Kaif believes Natarajan will hold the key to SRH’s fortunes.

“It’s also necessary to change because if you keep doing the same thing the batsman will start predicting you. He didn’t bowl yorker this time, but he made the ball swing from the front and clean bowled Ruturaj Gaikwad (in the match against Chennai Super Kings).

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The match between GT and SRH at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has been billed as a contest between the in-form men in Hardik and Natarajan.

There are also numerous other sub-plots including the much-expected and absorbing duel between SRH speedster Umran Malik and GT batter Shubman Gill.

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And Kaif believes the battle between Hardik and Natarajan will be the one to watch out for.

“It’ll be a great battle between Hardik Pandya and Natarajan because both the players are in form,” Kaif said.

Meanwhile, former Indian leg-spinner Piyush Chawla expects the GT vs SRH game to be one where bowlers will dominate.

“It’s going to be a good game, because both the teams are not heavily dependent on their batting. They rely heavily on their bowling. When you’re dependent on your bowling, you always have some fun out there.”

Chawla’s views were shared by ex-England opener Nick Knight.

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“The batting units of both the teams are operating okay when you feel like the bowlers are going to dominate the game,” Knight said on the same show.

IPL 2022 is getting more exciting as both GT and SRH are looking in menacing touch courtesy of their sensational bowling attack and Knight expects it to be a cracker of a contest when the two teams step in the middle for the return fixture in Mumbai.

The left-handed opener also spoke about the spin of the coin factor.

“The other thing you would look at will be the toss, Kane Williamson has won seven tosses in a row and if wins this time around as well then he’ll decide to bowl first understandably,” Knight said.

“If Hardik Pandya wins the toss, well then it’ll be a defining moment. So let’s see how it plays out but either way, it should be a cracking game. The game is a better game when there’s pace and a good bowling unit involved,” he added.

The pre-match telecast of GT vs SRH starts on Star Sports Network and Hotstar at 6.30pm. The match starts at 7.30pm IST.