Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
The 10th match of the IPL is already upon us – the third-most successful home team Kolkata Knight Riders take on the undefeated Sunrisers Hyderabad, in a game that again showcases how tight IPL 2018 is. Can you easily predict this one?
Kolkata Knight Riders, with the smallest squad in the tournament, have started their campaign brightly, despite failing to defend the only 200+ score so far. KKR’s depth in their batting is encouraging, highlighted by Andre Russell’s amazing 88* off 36 balls in Chennai, after his team were 89/5 at the halfway point. A possible concern though is their bowling, conceding 176 and 205 in their first two games, so it will be interesting to see how they recover after letting victory slip away in light of CSK Sam Billings’ awesome onslaught.
Sunrisers Hyderabad play their third game since April 9, with this their first game away from Hyderabad for the season – how fresh will they be? Their bowling continues to impress, conceding 125 and 147 (without Bhuvneshwar Kumar against MI) in their first two matches, but a possible concern is their middle order batting. Despite having a good line up on paper, SRH lost 9/75 before the last wicket partnership between Deepak Hooda and Billy Stanlake carried them over the line against Mumbai Indians.
Can KKR’s middle order outplay SRH’s? What about the top order? And can KKR’s bowling attack match it with SRH’s, likely to be missing Bhuvneshwar Kumar? Another good game awaits.
Key to a Kolkata Knight Riders win
KKR’s strength lies in their batting at the moment, and they will need to get on top of SRH’s in-form bowling attack.
This starts with a more polished performance from their top order. Against CSK, each of KKR’s top five batsmen reached double figures – three reached at least 20, with none reaching 30. Had it not been for Andre Russell’s brilliant innings, KKR would have been dismissed quite cheaply, and against a well-rounded SRH attack, they can’t afford to repeat the same performance.
Chris Lynn is a key player at the top, and so is Sunil Narine, who is admittedly hit and miss, but if he gets going, watch out. The likes of Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik will also be looking to build on double figure scores last time out.
Also, if KKR’s bowlers can get into SRH’s middle order as quickly as possible, it can go a long way towards victory at Eden Gardens.
Key to a Sunrisers Hyderabad win
Yes, the middle order needs to perform better than they did against MI, but their best chance of victory is through their bowling.
Even without Bhuvneshwar Kumar against MI, SRH still bowled admirably, restricting a fine batting line up to 147. His replacement, Sandeep Sharma, more than held his own, picking up 2/25 from his four overs. Rashid Khan, man of the match in the last outing, was simply superb, backed up well again in particular by Siddarth Kaul and Shakib Al Hasan.
SRH’s attack is very well rounded, and their best chance in such a quick turnaround is restrict KKR’s runs. They are very capable of this.
Predicted teams:
Rinku Singh has had a quiet start to IPL 2018, and could make way for Shubman Gill in the middle order. After a slight niggle that kept him out against CSK, Mitchell Johnson should be fit to return. Also, I can’t expect to see Vinay Kumar play, after struggling in his opening two outings.
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: 1. Chris Lynn, 2. Sunil Narine, 3. Robin Uthappa, 4. Nitish Rana, 5. Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), 6. Rinku Singh/Shubman Gill, 7. Andre Russell, 8. Mitchell Johnson, 9. Piyush Chawla, 10. Kuldeep Yadav, 11. Shivam Mavi
Expect SRH to stick with the same line up that delivered them victory against MI, except if Bhuvneshwar Kumar overcomes a back problem.
Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: 1. Shikhar Dhawan, 2. Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3. Kane Williamson (c), 4. Manish Pandey, 5. Yusuf Pathan, 6. Shakib Al Hasan, 7. Deepak Hooda, 8. Rashid Khan, 9. Siddarth Kaul, 10. Sandeep Sharma, 11. Billy Stanlake
Stats and Facts:
- Head-to-Head: Matches: 12, KKR: 8, SRH: 4. At Eden Gardens, KKR have won all five meetings between the two sides.
- Sunil Narine needs three wickets to reach 100 IPL wickets.
- Rashid Khan and Siddarth Kaul have both bowled 48 balls so far this season. For both bowlers, batsmen have not been in control of their shots in 25 of the balls delivered.
- Four of the last five games between these two teams have been won by the team batting first.
- Sunil Narine since 2015 IPL: Against spin, he averages 29.7 and has a strike rate of 240.50, with just three dismissals. Against pace, average and strike rate drops to 18.6 and 156.9 respectively, with 11 dismissals in 19 innings.
Prediction:
A game that looks evenly matched, but I will go with KKR because of their strong home record against SRH, and the fact SRH are coming off a very short turnaround after their last match.
KKR to win.
