Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and decided to field first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second match of this year’s Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Here is what the captains said:

Dinesh Karthik:

“We are looking to bowl first. The wicket will play pretty even, so we want to chase. We have some good memories on this ground. We are looking forward to put up a good performance. We didn’t make it to the finals last year but it was a good effort by us. It’s important we take one game at a time, as it’s a long tournament.”

Bhuvneshwar Kumar:

“I am glad they chose me to captain the side. If you look at our side, there are players like Warner and Shakib who can help me. With Warner at the top it’s always good.”

Preview:

The battle between these two teams has been one of the most exciting ones in recent years. Both the teams have delivered consistently in the last few years and the upcoming clash promises to be an exciting affair once again.

Statistically, Kolkata Knight Riders are a bit ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the 15 matches between these two sides so far, the Knight Riders have won 9 while the Sunrisers have won the remaining six. At Eden Gardens, their record is even better as they have won five of the seven matches. However, last year the Sunrisers came to Eden Gardens twice, and won both the matches including the Qualifier.

There is not much to choose between the two teams as far as the favourite’s tag is concerned. Both the teams rely on their top-order heavily, the allrounders and the spinners. The fans can expect another classic clash between these two great rivals.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

David Warner, Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar(c), Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul