Kolkata Knight Riders are at their best at the Eden Gardens, and with their next three IPL 2015 games in front of their own fans, the defending champions will look to put on the kind of run which will guarantee them a place in the playoffs, with the first of those home challenges coming in the shape of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
KKR have won only one of their last five matches, leaving them with plenty still to do to book seal that place in the top four. The Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings look certain to fill up two of those four spots, leaving the likes of KKR and SRH to fight for the final two places.
Both teams have the capabilities to make it to the playoffs, and how they fare against their immediate competitors will have a huge bearing on the final placings.
The Knight Riders haven't quite been able to build up a head of steam and pick up one win after another, much like they did last season. This campaign has been a bit stop-start, and Gautam Gambhir's men will know the next three games at home will be the best opportunity yet to go on a winning run.
Two of their last four matches have been hampered by rain, with KKR going down to RCB in their last game, which was reduced to 10 over a side. It is always a bit of a lottery when each team only gets to play 10 overs, and while KKR posted a decent total of 111, a Mandeep Singh blinder saw them go down to RCB.
KKR will hope rain, which has already washed out one match completely at the Eden Gardens and also played its part in the loss to SRH in Vizag, will not play spoilsport against SRH on Monday, because getting maximum points from your home games is essential.
It will not be easy, though, as SRH are coming off an impressive win over CSK. David Warner was the main man with the bat again for the Sunrisers, playing a knock-and-a-half to help his team to a big total, which the bowlers then defended really well.
The bowling remains SRH's strength, and the batsmen know if they put up even a decent score on the board, there is a good chance Trent Boult, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the rest will defend it.
"Obviously getting the result our way is a great start to our campaign at home," said Eoin Morgan after the win over CSK on Saturday. "But, to get it in the fashion that we did is probably better. Playing Chennai Super Kings is not always an easy task. They are a team of world beaters and to come out winning the way we did tonight is something we can take a lot of confidence from.
"Our bowlers were outstanding. They performed well on a wicket that didn't really have much going for them. They built pressure and picked wickets at crucial periods of time. We did have a little bit of luck going our way but we took advantage of it."
SRH will certainly have to take advantage of every bit of luck going their way on Monday, because in Kolkata, KKR are as formidable as they come in the IPL.
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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad is scheduled for an 8 pm IST (3.30 pm BST, 10.30 am ET) start with live coverage in India on Sony Six, Sony Max, Sony Kix and Sony Aath. The match can also be watched online by live streaming on Hotstar and Starsports online.
Viewers in the UK can tune into Sky Sports 4 to watch the IPL 2015 match live, while the live stream option is on Sky Go. Audience watch KKR vs SRH in the US can flip the remote to ESPN, while the game can also be live streamed on ESPN Cricket.
Audience across the world can also watch the match live on Cricketgateway.
