Preview: SunRisers Hyderabad Look To Heap Misery On Kolkata Knight Riders, Return To Top Four
SRH will climb to third position on the IPL points table if they win. As for KKR, a defeat would create a gap between them and the top five teams.
Highlights
-
SRH are fifth with 8 points from 8 matches
-
KKR are sixth with 8 points from 9 matches
-
Russell has said he wants to bat higher up the order
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be looking to continue their winning momentum when they host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad in the first of two Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to be held on Sunday. Brimming with confidence after breaking Chennai Super Kings' winning streak, SRH will climb to third position on the IPL points table if they manage to secure a win against KKR. As for KKR, who have lost their last four matches on the trot, a defeat against SRH would create a gap between them and the top five teams and deal a considerable blow to their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.  Â
Against CSK, the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed bowled in good areas to keep the run flow in check while Rashid Khan scalped two wickets for just 17 runs. With the bat, it was Jonny Bairstow and David Warner show once again as the pair guided the team to a facile victory by sharing a 66-run stand for the first wicket.
KKR, who lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 10 runs on Friday night, have looked out of sorts in their recent meetings, with their middle order not showing up and the over reliance on Andre Russell now becoming a cause of worry.Â
In the middle overs, after KKR had lost the first three wickets inside the powerplay, Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana stumbled along, accumulating just 46 off 41 balls in a partnership that had Russell fuming in the dugout. Russell, at the post match press conference, said he should bat higher up the order when KKR are in those situations, and it remains to be seen now what the think tank does against Sunrisers.
On Sunday, it will be Rashid against Russell as the latter hasn't had so much success against the turning ball. In their last meeting at the Eden Gardens, KKR won by six wickets with Russell smashing a 19-ball 49 chasing 182.
SquadsÂ
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), David Warner, Abhishek Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Khaleel Ahmed, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, Shreevats Goswami, Martin Guptill, Deepak Hooda, Siddharth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Shahbaz Nadeem, T Natarajan, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Wriddhiman Saha, Sandeep Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Shakib Al Hasan, Billy Stanlake.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (captain), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Joe Denly, Lockie Ferguson, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Harry Gurnley, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Warrier, KC Cariappa, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Shrikant Mundhe, Nikhil Naik, Anrich Nortje, Prithvi Raj, Prasidh Krishna.
Match starts at 4 pm IST
(With IANS inputs)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Andre Russell