SRH won their last game against PBKS [iplt20.com]
After so many edge-of-a-seat thrillers, another cracker awaits us as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face off against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Both the teams are coming off a stellar victory and will be looking to continue the good run. At the moment, KKR are at the third place, while SRH are tottering at the second last position, just above the Delhi Capitals.
Team Previews
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR played an instant classic when they faced off against Gujarat Titans. An unthinkable, unimaginable finish took place when Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes against Yash Dayal to seal the game for his side.
At one stage, KKR looked down and out, but Rinku played a once in a lifetime innings that will continue to live in the memories of every IPL fan. Two wins in a row for KKR and they are flying-high at the moment.
Chandrakant Pandit has instilled a new zeal in the side and they are playing like a proper unit at the moment. The only chinks in their armour is the form of Andre Russell. He was dismissed for a run in the last game and will be looking to get his mojo back.
Venkatesh Iyer is back amongst the runs and that is a massive boost for the team from Kolkata. Can they make it three in a row?
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Finally, after two back-to-back losses, SRH opened their account against PBKS. The batting lineup, which was named the best on a sheet of paper has failed to delivery consistently, but it showed the desire to win in the last game when Rahul Tripathi played a blinder to snatch the win for his side.
The coming of Marco Jansen in the bowling lineup is a big boost for the former IPL champions, but the way they conceded runs towards the slog overs against Shikhar Dhawan in the last match is a sign of worry for the team management.
The biggest sign of concern for SRH is the form of Harry Brook. Bought for a whopping 13.25 crore, he has failed to lit up the stage and looks a pale shadow of the player that we adored at the international stage.
An interesting battle awaits us. Who will come out on top?
Match Details
Date and Time: April 14, 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live Streaming: Star Sports, Jio Cinema
Pitch Report
If the first game on this ground of the season is anything to go by, spinners will enjoy a lot bowling at the Eden Gardens. When KKR played against RCB, the KKR spin trio of Narine, Chakravarthy, and Suyash ran riot as RCB had no answer for it. The ball will grip once it gets softer.
Probable XI
KKR: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Suyash Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Players: Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Mandeep Singh, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy
SRH: Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T Natarajan
Impact Players: Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, Adil Rashid
Cricket Exchange Fantasy Tips
Wicket-keepers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Narayan Jagadeesan
Batters: Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh
All-rounders: Sunil Narine, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen
Bowlers: Umran Malik, Mayank Markande, Varun Chakravarthy
Prediction
KKR have won back-to-back matches. The win against GT from an impossible situation will give them loads of confidence and will start as the favourites against SRH.
 "Anurag Dasgupta")
