Fire-packed Kolkata Knight Riders take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in a high-voltage encounter in the nineteenth match of the Indian Premier League on Friday evening at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
What have they done so far?
Kolkata Knight Riders have bagged four points by winning two of their first three games, both at away venues. The first one against Punjab Kings was a batter’s delight. For the majority of the game, Kolkata Knight Riders trailed the Punjab Kings. Chasing 192, they were 80 for 5, with a victory looking like a bleak possibility.
That’s when Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer stitched together a partnership that appeared to take them ahead in the match for the first time. It also brought Knight Riders closer to the DLS target with rain hovering over the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali but the Knight Riders eventually lost by seven runs through the DLS method.
In another encounter against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Kolkata-based side put up a huge total of 204 while they bundled the massive RCB batting line-up for 123 runs giving their net run rate a massive boost. Shardul Thakur proved his batting mettle by hitting 68 runs off only 29 deliveries at a humongous strike rate of 234.48. Varun Chakravarthy’s magical spell of spin bowling plundered RCB as he took four wickets while giving away only 15 runs.
KKR seems unstoppable when it comes to producing wonders. Rinku Singh is not just another upcoming lower-order batter in this IPL now as Singh’s five consecutive sixes against Gujarat Titans while chasing 28 runs off the last five balls, swept every cricket fan off their feet. An innings termed unthinkable by the pundits ended in a memorable three-wicket victory.
On the other hand, the Sunrisers have only managed to get one win to their name. After Dhawan’s one-man show at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, SRH’s Rahul Tripathi stood up to get his team home with a wonderful 74-run knock. Jansen, who was chosen ahead of legspinner Adil Rashid, took advantage of the early swing available, much like Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The Hyderabad-based franchise’s first game against Rajasthan Royals was quite a fare to forget when Sunrisers’ batting order collapsed while chasing 204 runs. The next one against Lucknow Supergiants was a low-scoring affair where LSG comfortably chased down 121 runs in 16 overs.
Head-to-Head Record
Both teams are coming in this season with one win each from IPL 2022. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the first battle at Brabourne Stadium by seven wickets while Kolkata Knight Riders won the second match by 54 runs at MCA Stadium, Pune.
Key Players
Rinku Singh(KKR)
His heroics against GT has definitely made him a hidden master card for KKR. This is not the first time Rinku Singh has given his everything at the crease. His 40-run knock last year though went in vain, but this time he made sure to take his team over the boundary, that too for five straight deliveries. Singh is an amazing fielder but to add to that, the ability to finish is what makes him a player to look out for against SRH.
Rahul Tripathi(SRH)
Rahul Tripathi celebrates his first half-century of IPL 2023
Rahul Tripathi has proven his worth year by year for any franchise he has played. His grit while batting is very visible through his body language. While batting and even while just being on the field, his enthusiasm seeps out and powers the team. He will definitely work as a charm for SRH over any opposition and especially against his former team KKR.
Predicted XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ramanullah Gurbaz (wk), Narayan Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana ©, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram ©, Henrich Klaasen (wk), Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T. Natrajan
Prediction
Kolkata Knight Riders will have more confidence in its batting order that goes deep till the eighth wicket. The spinners of the Knights will be showcasing all they got. The home-ground advantage for KKR will give them an upper hand over SRH. While Sunrisers will be desperate to get another two points on the board.