The Kolkata Knight Riders need a win to give themselves a chance of finishing in the top-two of the IPL 2014 table, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad need two points to just prolong their stay in the tournament this season – so when the two sides clash at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, expect some fireworks.
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The game is scheduled for an 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) start with live coverage on Sony Six, Sony Six HD (English) and Sony Max (Hindi) in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online HERE or HERE. Viewers in the US can catch the game on Willow TV or with the live streaming option HERE, while Canada viewers can do the same HERE. Watch the match in the rest of the world HERE, HERE or through the GoCricket apps.
Viewers in the Middle East can watch the action on OSN with the live streaming option available HERE, while New Zealand viewers can do the same via Sky NZ or HERE or via the above rest of the world options. Viewers in the UK can catch the match on ITV, while Pakistan viewers can do the same on Geo Super, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh audience able to watch the game on TV on Masaranga TV and Carlton Sports Network respectively.
KKR are the form team of IPL 2014 at the moment, winning their last six matches to zoom their way towards the top of the table and book their place in the playoffs. With 16 points from 13 matches, KKR are currently level on points with CSK, who can move to 18 with a win over RCB in the early game.
The Knight Riders will know the importance of finishing in the top two, as it gives you a chance at making the final even if you lose your first game in the playoffs, and there will definitely be no easing of the accelerator when the Sunrisers pay a visit to their bastion on Saturday.
"We have been playing very good cricket since we have come back to India and we have continued with those performances," all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has played a couple of brilliant innings with the bat, told IPL's official website after KKR's impressive win over RCB on Thursday.
"At the moment, we are very happy and hopefully we will keep on our smiles till the finals."
An added motivation for KKR to finish in the top two will be the fact that Qualifier 1 will be played at the Eden Gardens, giving them a pretty good chance to enter the final at the first time of asking.
However, come Saturday, they will be up against an SRH side brimming with confidence and desperate for two points. David Warner's blitzkrieg helped the Sunrisers stay in the tournament with a big victory over the Chennai Super Kings, and nothing but a win will do against KKR if they are to harbour hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage.
"It was great to watch him play the way he did," Shikhar Dhawan told IPL's official website when asked about Warner's brilliant 90 from just 45 balls. "I wanted to applaud every shot he played because he was batting magnificently. He was clearing the boundary at will and it was quite a sight from the other end.
"He has been in great touch this season. He is someone who has always batted freely, irrespective of his batting position. Tonight, he was just attacking every bowler who came to bowl to him. He even danced down the track to hit the spinners above their heads, which is not an easy thing to do. It was just a beautiful batting performance."
SRH will need Warner and the rest of their big batsmen to be at their best again, because a mere win over KKR will not be enough to qualify for the playoffs, they will need to pull off a big victory. Two points on Saturday will take SRH to 14 points from 14 matches, the same as the Rajasthan Royals, who will remain there if they lose to the Mumbai Indians, with MI also jumping to 14.
The Royals, though, hold a far superior net run rate and both SRH and MI need to fashion massive wins to stand a chance of catching up on net run rate – easier, said than done.
