The Kolkata Knight Riders will hope to keep their strong home form intact when they host the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in IPL 2017 Match 14 on Saturday.
KKR gave their fans the perfect home start to the season when they thumped the previously unbeaten Kings XI Punjab. With the batting order on-song and the bowlers doing reasonably well, KKR will go into this match as the favourites.
Especially after the Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a heavy defeat to the Mumbai Indians in their last game.
Here are the predictions of the IPL 2017 Match 14.
If KKR bat first:
That means Gambhir lost the toss and the captain looks to give his bowlers a strong total to defend, by picking up runs at will in the first six overs, much like he has done often in IPL 2017. It isn't Sunil Narine, but Robin Uthappa for company as the old team of "Batman and Robin" combine to put up 45 in the first six overs, with Gambhir falling in the last over of the Powerplay, to Rashid Khan.
Manish Pandey, though, looks good from the off, timing the ball quite well and KKR remain on course for a big total. Uthappa, after a nice 35, falls to Moises Henriques, with Yusuf Pathan also going early.
Shakib Al Hasan, in for Colin de Grandhomme, comes in and spanks a couple of quick sixes, with Pandey holding the innings together at the other end. Suryakumar Yadav also comes in and does the same as KKR get to 174.
The start is always the key for SRH, and that start doesn't go too well, with David Warner falling to Trent Boult, who finally gets the wicket he has deserved all IPL.
With KKR feeling like they have this match in the bag, considering how much the Sunrisers Hyderabad depend on Warner, they take their eyes off the game a little, and that allows Shikhar Dhawan to stamp his authority on this match.
Dhawan has scratched his way to a couple of decent scores in IPL 2017, but this one is much better – the timing is there, the drives come out, and so do the lofted shots over the onside, with Henriques also looking good at the other end.
The Australian falls to Shakib in the eighth over, with SRH needing another solid partnership to put themselves in a position to chase down the target. That comes through Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh, with the latter smoking a couple of sixes over midwicket, which gets the Eden Gardens crowd up on their feet, cheering for the India man.
Yuvraj and Dhawan's partnership breaks KKR, and SRH are able to pick up their third win in four matches in IPL 2017.
If SRH bat first:
Warner is off to a sedate start, with Dhawan also looking to find his touch early. However, SRH get the runs flowing from the third over, with the two openers taking the away team to 43/0 in the first six overs.
The run rate needs to go up and it does with Warner bringing out a couple of switch hits as well as conventional ones to put the pressure back on the KKR bowlers. The two Sunrisers Hyderabad openers keep piling on the runs, with the home team struggling to break through.
They do get Dhawan out in the eleventh over, but that brings Yuvraj Singh, promoted to No.3, to the middle. Yuvraj unleashes a couple of trademark pulls and one beautiful lofted shot over mid-off to get his knock off quickly and from there, there is no looking back as SRH finish their innings on 189.
KKR have chased brilliantly this season, as they do most of the time, and their record in chases remains intact. Gambhir and Uthappa give KKR the start they need, getting to 68 in the first six overs.
Pandey comes in and makes a quickfire 34.
Yusuf Pathan then thumps three sixes in an over to get the required run rate down further.
And Shakib and Suryakumar Yadav also chip in as KKR get to the target and their third win of the IPL 2017 season.
