The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday. It is the 72nd and final league match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013.
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
Overview:
It's 'do or die' game for SRH, as win on Sunday will take them to the Playoffs while defeat will give way for Royal Challengers Bangalore on net run rate difference. They conceded defeat to KKR in their previous meeting this season, so they will be keen to win before their home crowd. On the other hand, the defending champions had a forgettable outing this season and are out of the competition.
SRH are currently placed fifth in the table with 18 points after winning nine of the 15 games played. They come into this contest after beating Rajasthan Royals by 23 runs. Knowing that they should win this game to qualify for the Playoffs, they will pull up all they got for a win.
KKR, on the other hand are out of the contention for the Playoffs. They are placed in the seventh position with 12 points from six wins. They conceded defeat to Pune Warriors India by seven runs in their previous match. Gautam Gambhir's men will be keen to end the session with a win.
Previous Meetings:
KKR defeated SRH by 48 runs in their only meeting in the IPL.
Team News:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Top order - Parthiv Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Hanuma Vihari and Cameron White - failed with their bats in the previous match. It was Biplab Samantray (55) and Darren Sammy (23) who helped the team put up a decent total, and thanks to the bowlers for defending it. The top order needs to perform with their bats as KKR are a strong batting side.
The strength of SRH has been the bowlers. Dale Steyn, Karan Sharma, Thisara Perera and Amit Mishra took two wickets apiece in the previous match. They also have Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, and Darren Sammy in the side. Their performance this season has been outstanding, and the fate of the team on Sunday will depend on their performance.
Kolkata Knight Riders: It was Yusuf Pathan (72) and Ryan Ten Doeschate (42) who helped the team put up a tough fight in the previous game after the top order - Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis and Manvinder Bisla - were sent off for just 14 runs. They should put their acts together and avoid batting collapse as SRH are a strong bowling side.
On the bowling front, they have Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Rajat Bhatia, Sachithra Senanayake and Lakshmipathy Balaji. However, Sunil Narine is the only bowler who has performed consistently well throughout this season.
Squads:
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
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
