We are in the 2nd week of IPL and the league seems to have gathered pace after a slow start in the initial week. All the games played this week have gone down to the wire and we will be hoping that KKR vs SRH promises to be another humdinder.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
KKR pulled the heist of the IPL when they snatched the victory by the skin of their teeth against the defending champions. Their confidence would be sky high and that would boost even further when they play at their home ground. Whenever KKR plays at Eden they are a completely different unit. The crowd acts as a 12th man which could be scary for the opponents. We saw how RCB were taken down last week without dropping a sweat in the 2nd innings. Jason Roy has joined the team and might play his first game today replacing Gurbaz considering Jagadeesan keeps wickets too.
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
SRH are coming back off a brilliant win against Punjab who were unbeaten in their first 2 games. South Africans have instilled a fresh energy in the group. Their coaching staff is filled with legends who can guide anyone to be the next superstar. What more do they need? Consistency one might say. They have blown hot and cold every season. If they are to win at Eden they need to punch above their weight and produce a magical display of determination to grind out the result in their favour. They have one of the best bowling units of the tournament make no mistakes about it.
Players to watch out for:
Aiden Markram:
Aiden Markram is in the middle of a purple patch in his career. The things he touches are turning into gold. Got a test 100 in his comeback game, was made SA national team T20 captain, got his maiden ODI hundred, helped SA qualify for the WC and most importantly led his side to the title in SA20. If luck keeps shining in his favour who knows he might even take SRH through to the playoffs. Watch out for Markram.
Andre Russell:
Guy hasn't done anything worth noticing this IPL. Hasn't bowled a single ball in this IPL. We all are waiting for the old Russell who sent down shivers among opponents spine. He is a big game player and will certainly perform sooner rather than later. Today just might be the day when he shows the whole world what he is still capable of. He is up against a world class bowling line up though.
Interesting facts:
- Head to Head: Total matches: 23 - Won by SRH: 8; Won by KKR: 15.
- KKR leads SRH 6-2 for the matches played at Eden Gardens.
- Nitish Rana needs 3 more fours to reach 200 IPL fours.
- Gurbaz needs 10 fours to reach 100 fours in T20 format.
- Umesh Yadav needs 2 wickets to reach 150 wickets in T20 format.
- Tim Southee needs 3 Wickes to complete his 50 IPL wickets.
- Varun Chakravarthy needs 1 wicket to reach 50 wickets in T20 format and 3 wickets to reach 50 wickets in IPL.
- Heinrich Klassen will play his 50th match in T20 format vs KKR today.
- This is the 150th match for Swing king Bhuvneshwar Kumar in IPL.
- Markram needs 7 fours to complete his 50 IPL fours.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar needs 4 wkts to reach 250 wkts in T20 format.
- Mayank Agarwal needs 4 fours to reach 250 fours in T20 format.
- Rahul Tripathi needs 10 fours to reach 200 fours in IPL.
- Natrajan needs 3 wkts to reach 50 wkts in T20 format.
- Adil Rashid needs 3 wkts to reach 100 wkts in T20 format.
Pitch & Toss:
It is one of the best pitches to bat in the country. Spin plays its part too but batsmen with right application might have a fruitful day on this wicket. Last time Varun and Narine spun Kohli and co out of the contest. Expect a more close game this time around.
KKR would love to bat first on this wicket. SRH prefers chasing so they might opt to chase. Dew didn't play any part last week when RCB were humbled by KKR so teams winning the toss should opt to bat first. Put runs on the board which will automatically make things happen. A wonderful game of cricket to kickstart your weekend.
Date & Time: 14th Apr 2023, 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Jio Cinema
Dream XI Team:
