IPL 2023 PREVIEW: KKR v SRH

They say its not over until its actually over. This holds true in all walks of life.

Despite having a lackluster team on paper and grappling with injuries, the Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to defy all odds and make a stunning comeback in the Indian Premier League. After a disappointing start to the tournament with a loss in the opening match, KKR seemed to have lost their way. However, in the last two games, they have showcased remarkable resilience and grit, pulling off unexpected victories. One such instance was the miraculous chase engineered by Rinku Singh, who hammered five sixes in five balls in the last over, a feat that has never been achieved before in the history of IPL. The stunning display of power hitting by Singh in the crunch situation left everyone awestruck and elevated KKR's morale to new heights. Their recent performances have instilled a renewed sense of optimism among their fans and have proved that they are a team not to be underestimated.

Despite being touted as the strongest side on paper, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have endured a disappointing start to their IPL campaign, losing their opening two games. The team boasted an explosive batting lineup and a formidable bowling attack that covered all bases, leaving talented players like Akeal Hossein, Kartik Tyagi and Glenn Philips on the bench due to the abundance of options. However, the much-hyped Harry Brook failed to live up to expectations, and the reasons for Abhishek Sharma's sudden dropping remain unknown. Adding to their woes, Mayank Agarwal has been a consistent disappointment, averaging a paltry 18 after playing over 90 innings, if we exclude the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The team's struggles suggest that paper strengths alone are not enough to guarantee success in the fiercely competitive world of IPL.
They have been tactically poor against Lucknow by promoting Sundar ahead of Klassen and not naming Akeal Hossein in the subs. It was a tailor made pitch for the one of the best finger spinners in the world. Its going to be an interesting contest. KKR’s spin trio of Narine, Varun and Suyash against the big guns Brook, Markram, Tripathi and Klassen.

Probable Playing XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klassen, Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, Kartik Tyagi, Umran Malik, T Natarajan

Kolkata Knight Riders

Jason Roy, N Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Lockie Fergusson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy

Last year’s Standings

Kolkata: 7th
Hyderabad: 8th

Venue

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

-Average Total batting 1st: 161.7
-Average 1st innings winning total: 173.4
-Highest total: 232/2 - KKR vs MI, 2019
-Lowest total: 49/10 - RCB v KKR, 2017
-Total Match Played: 79
-Batting First Won: 32
-Batting Second Won: 47

Head to Head

Overall: KKR leads by 15-8
Batting 1st: KKR leads by 7-4
Batting 2nd: KKR leads by 8-4
Last 5 Matches: KKR leads by 4-1

Most runs: David Warner - 619
Most wkts: Bhuvaneshwar Kumar - 22

Match Ups (IPL)

Russell v Bhuvi: 63 off 28, 1 out
Rana v Natarajan: 40 off 26, 2 outs
Rana v Bhuvi: 39 off 35, 2 outs
Rana v Sundar: 23 off 19, 2 outs
Russell v Umran: 9 off 11

Tripathi v Narine: 71 off 48
Tripathi v Umesh: 69 off 33
Tripathi v Russell: 15 off 13, 2 outs
Mayank v Narine: 38 off 27, 2 outs
Mayank v Umesh: 29 off 29, 2 outs
Markram v Varun: 40 off 20
Samad v Varun: 26 off 12

Key Players and Fantasy Picks

Rahul Tripathi

Since the start of 2021 season, 14 batters have scored 800 or more runs. Tripathi has the best SR among Indian batters. He has scored 918 runs at a SR of 144.6 and overall is 3rd on the list of best Strike Rates. He has a spectacular record against every KKR bowler. As pointed out under the match ups section.

Aiden Markram

He led the Sunrisers team to victory in SA 20 as captain. During the last few weeks, he has been in exceptional form with 100s in all three formats and a SR of 150 for his national team. Additionally, he is an adept off-spinner. He scored 381 runs for the Sunrisers last year at 140 runs per over in 12 innings.

Sunil Narine and Andre Russell

In the last 10 years, Narine and Russell 2 have been pillars of KKR. They have always bailed out the team, and Narine is no exception this year. RCB's openers were going bonkers when he provided the initial breakthrough. Again he struck immediately against GT in the first over. From 3 games, he has taken 6 wickets at an echo of 7.4.

As of now, Russell hasn't fired and has been dismissed cheaply for a duck in both of his last two games; he has a SR of 163 against SRH.

Umran Malik

He holds the record of most wkts by a pacer in middle overs in a season. He had great outings against KKR last season and overall picked 5 wkts from 3 games. Indian batters couldn't cope with his pace. He also managed to keep Russell quiet last season.

Wild Card

Harry Brook

Although he has been disappointing so far in the 3 games he has played, you cannot ignore someone like Harry Brook with more than 2k runs at a SR of 150 in this format. On his day, he is the biggest match-winner. The same effect Buttler had for Rajasthan can be achieved with him as an opener

Fantasy XI