Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knightriders will face each other at Eden gardens , Kolkata and have a lot to play for. Kolkata Knightriders will love to end up in the top2, after booking a berth for the next round,after their previous win. Kolkata Knightriders are currently 3rd , next to CSK , even though the points are equal. Sunrisers Hyderabad will also stake a claim if they win this match with a convincing margin and do the same for their next match. Also, it will depend on the fact that Mumbai Indians defeat Rajasthan Royals in their next encounter.
Kolkata Knightriders has been a revolution after an average start on this tournament. They have now won 6 consecutive games . On the other hand, Sunrisers have seen ups and downs in the tournament. They have not been able to replicate the same home performance , which they did last year.
Strong points:
Kolkata Knightriders will depend on the successful opening combination to give them a good start. Uthappa will love to extend his lead in the run for Orange cap. Yusuf Pathan seems to be coming back in some form and he firing in the middle will make KKR a different batting lineup. Sunil Narine has been excellent in the death overs and has a lot to do with KKr being the most economical team in the last 5 overs. Shakib al Hasan is contributing with both bat and ball, proving the team’s faith in him.
Sunrisers will bank on it’s top 4 to help them reach a good total. Their bowling line up is excellent with Bhuvneshwar leading it. Karan Sharma looks a bright prospect. Naman Ojha has been hitting it clean. Dhawan is back to form and Warner, after he has started to open the innings is looking more the Warner we know.
Weak Points:
With the form KKR is in, there seems to be no flaw but their pace attack looks a bit inconsistent.
Steyn’s form has been an issue for the SRH. He has not been able to pick wickets for the team. SRH also lack a premier 5th bowler and teams have gone for exploiting this issue.On an average, the 5th bowler has cost them around 10 per over this IPL.
Team news:
KKR might bring in Chawla in place of Vinay Kumar otherwise both the teams are likely to go with the same 11 , they went the last time around.
Expected result:
With the form KKR is in, they must take away the cake on the day , and adding the fact of home advantage , it just favours the KKR a bit more.
A win here and KKR might end up playing their next game at home against Kings X11 Punjab.