It's been about 20 days since the 15th edition of IPL got kicked off. So far, there have been some amazing and entertaining games. This promises to be something similar. It's going to be a tight battle between 'Risers' and 'Riders'.
SRH were initially a bit rusty. They lost their first game against RR by a huge margin and then lost a close game against LSG. But from then, they've won back-to-back games against CSK and GT respectively. KKR too have lost two games, against RCB and DC respectively, bit have won three games so far in the season.
Team News
SRH
Looks like the things are coming together slowly but steadily for SRH. Abhishek Sharma is now converting his starts and the middle order consisting the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Nicholas Pooran and Maiden Markram, is performing well.
Washington Sundar brings in the balance to the side. SRH are using him well. With the ball, he can bowl economical and wicket taking spells in the powerplay overs. With the bat, he's been explosive so far. But due to the injury, he'll be missed. Abdul Samad needs to step up for all the calibre he's got.
Their bowling is looking good as a unit. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is as good as he's ever been in powerplay overs. He can handle the death overs as well. Marco Jansen and T Natarajan have been good as well. Umran Malik has been expensive so far. SRH might be tempted to bring in Karthik Tyagi for him.
KKR
So far, bowling has been their strength. The well-oiled unit of Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy has been very good. Pat Cummins' inclusion has been a double-edged sword. While he's contributing with the bat, he's been expensive with the ball, unlike Tim Southee who was economical and taking wickets as well.
Their top order is inconsistent. Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana aren't able to find form. Sam Billings is also not converting the starts. So far, Andre Russell and Pat Cummins have saved them from many collapses.
They've to get better and consistent with the bat. A high target almost seems out of reach for them. That's what happened for them in their last match against DC. They might've to replace Ajinkya Rahane, who's unfortunately not looking good.
Probable Playing XIs
SRH
Abhishek Sharma
Kane Williamson (C)
Rahul Tripathi
Nicholas Pooran (WK)
Aiden Markram
Abdul Samad
Shashank Singh/Jagadeesha Suchith
Marco Jansen
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
Umran Malik
T Natarajan
KKR
Venkatesh Iyer
Ajinkya Rahane
Shreyas Iyer (C)
Nitish Rana
Sam Billings (WK)
Andre Russell
Pat Cummins
Sunil Narine
Umesh Yadav
Rasikh Salam
Varun Chakravarthy
Key Stats
- Kane Williamson is just 8 runs away from reaching 2000 IPL runs.
- Sunil Narine is just 3 wickets away from becoming the first overseas spinner to claim 150 IPL wickets.
- Sunil Narine is the only bowler with an economy of under 5 after playing 5 matches in the ongoing season.
- Both the teams have faced each other for 21 times in IPL. KKR have won 14 of them, while SRH have managed to win 7 of them.
Pitch and Conditions
The battle of 'Risers' and 'Riders' will take place in Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. It has unique dimensions. The straight boundaries and side boundaries are short. The mid-wicket and deep mid-wicket region have longer dimensions since the stadium is oval in shape.
The pitch is very good to bat on, but also has assistance for the pacers early on and for the spinners in the middle overs. It's been the best batting surface so far in the season and the audience can expect a high scoring game.
When, where and how to watch?
The match between SRH and KKR will start at 7:30pm IST on 15th April 2022. It'll take place in Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. With the match happening in Friday night, there might be good crowd for the available occupancy.
The TV airing of the match will be done on the Star Sports network. The live streaming of the match will be available in the Disney+Hotstar app.
Dream11 Team
