The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will meet for the first time in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. They will play against each other at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.
Overview:
Defending champions KKR lost two consecutive matches after winning the opening game against depleted Delhi Daredevils side. They are in the bottom half of the table after playing three matches, and will be keen to win their fourth match.
SRH are high on confidence after winning three of the four matches played so far, conceding defeat only to Royal Challengers Bangalore. They are at the top half of the table and will be keen to continue the momentum.
Previous Meetings:
KKR and SRH will meet for the first time. However, KKR had defeated the old Hyderabad franchise Deccan Chargers three times out of four matches played at home.
Team News:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Wicketkeeper and opener Manvinder Bisla's form is a matter of concern for the team, as it doesn't help in giving a good start though skipper Gautam Gambhir has contributed considerably well. A good opening partnership will pave way for Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan to play attacking game. They will be keen to taste success again. Brendon McCullum, who is known for explosive batting, is expected to play on Sunday.
In the bowling department, Sunil Narine's performance has been impressive so far. Brett Lee, Rajat Bhatia and Lakshmipathy Balaji have also performed well in the previous matches but Jacques Kallis hasn't taken any wicket this season.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Good opening partnership of Akshath Reddy and Parthiv Patel will open up avenues for batsmen like Kumar Sangakkara, Hanuma Vihari, Cameron White and Thisara Perera to play their natural game and put up a good total on the board. The positive aspect of their batting line-up is team contribution.
In the bowling department, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and Thisara Perera lead the attack. They have managed to restrict the total score of the opponents in the matches played so far.
Prediction:
SRH are a more balanced team but KKR are expected to make good use of their home ground advantage and pull up a win on Sunday.
SQUADS:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Brendon McCullum, Brett Lee, Debabrata Das, Eoin Morgan, Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, James Pattinson, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Manvinder Bisla, Shami Ahmed, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan McLaren, Ryan ten Doeschate, Sachithra Senanayake, Sarabjit Ladda, Shakib Al Hassan, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Akshath Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Biplap Samantray, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma, Nathan McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Prasanth Padmanabhan, Quinton de Kock, Sachin Rana, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Thalaivan Sargunam, Thisara Perera, Veer Pratap Singh
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
