IPL 2018: Match 10, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Expectation vs Reality

In the tenth encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL), table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on fourth-ranked Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. The home side will be looking to bounce back from the loss in a hard-fought contest at Chepauk. It will be particularly for KKR to make sure they come back on track in their campaign because SRH is one team that has almost all their departments sorted.

SRH will have to make sure their lower middle order batsmen work on their consistency and step up in case of a collapse as they seemed to have made a weather out of what was looking like an easy chase against MI. KKR, on the other hand, will have to take a big call on whether to persist with Rinku Singh and Vinay Kumar or bring in Shubman Gill and either of Shivam Mavi or Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

While Shikhar Dhawan seems to be in a rich form, it is important for the team to not become over-dependent on him. The case is similar for KKR but they are mostly aware that they can’t be over-dependent on Sunil Narine, especially against teams with a bowling line-up like Sunrisers Hyderabad.

We have some expectations from certain players, do your expectations match ours?

Pandey will step up

It is high time SRH’s No. 4 and Team India’s best candidate for the No. 4 spot do something about putting a stamp on it. This season should be all about doing that for him, however, he looked absolutely out of sorts in the two games thus far. However, expect him to do well against his former team, at the ground he played in for several years.

Of course, this expectation arises primarily due to the familiarity factor he has with the team and Eden Gardens but he is also a player who can thrive under pressure. The pressure is building, it’s about time. Let the proceedings begin, Pandey.

Kuldeep vs Rashid will be a sight

Two of the best spinners going around in modern cricket will be facing each other in a spin battle on a Kolkata pitch that may well start gripping a bit halfway through the match. Who will come out on top in the spin battle will be a sight.

While Kuldeep will be bowling in-tandem with Narine and Chawla, Rashid will have the support of Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda and perhaps even Yusuf Pathan. Two interesting spin contingents and it will all be perfect if the Eden Gardens shows a bit of its OG loyalty to spinners.