SRH vs KKR Match Preview
While the batting has been a big letdown for the team this season, the terrific performance of Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen in the previous game will give them something to cheer about.
Harry Brook was demoted to the middle order but that hasn’t improved his performance as he was out for a duck. He did score a scintillating century against KKR in the reverse fixture and will be hoping to put up another good performance here.
The team has plenty of talented batsmen in the form of Aiden Markram, Mayank Agarwal, and Rahul Tripathi. But they will need to convert it into on-field performance. The lack of runs from Aggarwal and Tripathi is a major concern and causes SRH to quickly fall behind in most games.
The bowling lineup for SRH is not bad but it is certainly not the strongest. Marco Jansen, T Natarajan, and Buvneshwar Kumar are talented but neither of them bowls with any real pace and can be expensive on off-days.
Mayank Markande has been a consistent performer for the team and is the leading wicket-taker for them this season. The spin attack has received a bit of a setback after the departure of Washington Sundar.
The Knight Riders do have a good batting line-up as players like Venkatesh Iyer, Nitesh Rana, and Rinku Singh have been pretty consistent. The inclusion of Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz further strengthens the top order. However, the all-rounders, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell have failed to make a big impact with the bat.
Similarly, N Jagadeesan, who had a phenomenal domestic season, hasn’t enjoyed the same success here. The bowling too has been a bit of a letdown for the Knight Riders. There is a clear selection dilemma for KKR in this match.
Jason Roy should walk back into the lineup and Rahmanullah Gurbaz has done very well in the previous match too. Could it mean leaving David Wiese or even Sunil Narine out of the team? or Will Gurbaz just have sit out because of the team's balance?
Most of their frontline bowlers are going at over 8.50 runs per over. KKR has given away 179 or more runs in 7 of their 9 matches this season and that has been s major reason for the team’s poor performance.
The seamers have struggled to pick up wickets. Umesh Yadav has just 1 wicket in 8 matches, while Shardul Thakur has 2 from 6. The spinners on the contrary have done a better job. Varun Chakaravarthy is leading the pack with 13 wickets, while Narine and Suyash Sharma have picked up 16 between them.
Weather Report
We are likely to see some rain here on Thursday leading to delays or interruptions.
Pitch Report
The pitch here is good to bat on and has an average first-inning score of around 170. There will be some swing early on but shouldn’t cause many problems. The surface is a bit dry and the spinners will see some turn as the match progresses.
Anything over 180 will be a bit difficult to chase here.
Notable stats
Suyash Sharma: A Star in the Making
Playing his debut IPL season, Suyash Sharma has bowled pretty well so far. He has picked up 9 wickets in his 7 outings and has a bowling strike rate of 18.67. It is impressive to see him bowl with a lot of pace, accuracy and not be afraid to step up in the big moments.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side. Jason Roy is expected to be available for selection for this match.
SRH vs KKR Probable 11
SRH Playing 11
- Harry Brook
- Mayank Agarwal
- Aiden Markram (C)
- Heinrich Klaasen (Wk)
- Abhishek Sharma
- Rahul Tripathi
- Abdul Samad
- Mayank Markande
- Akeal Hossain
- Umran Malik
- Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
KKR Playing 11
- Venkatesh Iyer
- N Jagadeesan
- Nitesh Rana (C)
- Rinku Singh
- Sunil Narine
- Andre Russell
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk)
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Shardul Thakur
- Harshit Rana
- David Weise
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing the Kolkata Knight Riders to win here. They have a lot of depth in their batting and most of their top-order batsmen are in good form. On the other hand, the SRH batsmen have failed to live up to the expectations and even their strong seam attack has failed to yield the desired impact.
KKR's spinners could be the difference in this contest.
Top Picks
Venkatesh Iyer: Venkatesh Iyer is in good form this season and is the leading scorer for the KKR. He has an average of 32.89 and a strike rate of 148.74. His ability get big scores when gets a start is invaulable.
Andre Russell: While he had a slow start to the season, Russell seems to be slowly gaining form and has performed well with the bat as well as the ball in the last couple of matches. He has scored a total of 142 runs and picked up 6 wickets. We think Russel is just beginning to peak and could be coming up with something special soon.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar: Kumar is undoubtedly one of the most talented seamers in the SRH line-up. He can dry up the runs for the opposition and force them to give up wickets. He has picked up 31 wickets against KKR, which is his best performance against any team in the league.
SRH vs KKR Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: H Klaasen, R Gurbaz
Batters: N Rana, V Iyer, R Singh
All-rounders: A Russell (C), A Markram (VC), S Narine
Bowlers: V Chakravarthy, B Kumar, M Markande
