IPL 2018, Match 10: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – Match Predictions

SRH have won both their matches while KKR will want to get back to the winning ways.

Published - 13 Apr 2018, 20:52 IST | Updated - 13 Apr 2018, 20:52 IST

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When the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council refused to allow David Warner to feature in IPL 11, it was supposed to lessen the capability of the Sunrisers Hyderabad significantly. However, the way they have played so far, they don’t seem to be missing their former skipper too much having earned the top spot in the points table with two consecutive victories. However, both those victories have come at home and the orange army is now set to travel away for the first time this tourney as they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens tomorrow.

The Knight Riders, on the other hand, have had a mixed start as they have won one and lost one. They had the second one in their pocket too at one stage in Chennai, but some really average bowling in the death allowed CSK to snatch it away from them and they would be really kicking themselves for that. However, as KKR return to Eden, they will want to remove that game from their system and get their act together aiming a good all-round performance against the table toppers.

Pitch and Conditions

The Eden Gardens pitch was nice and hard for the RCB game and that’s how it has been for the last year and a half. It’s not like the old Eden anymore which used to assist the spinners a lot. It has been revamped and the surface behaves pretty differently now.

If anything, there is a bit in it for the fast bowlers who bend their back and whack it into the pitch as the carry is pretty good. If you put proper shoulder into short of length deliveries, you can get it to the head height of the batsmen on this surface and create wicket taking chances as Umesh Yadav did last game.

There is no question of dew not affecting the game in Kolkata. It will be present in fair amount and the outfield will be wet. The bowlers will gradually struggle to grip the ball in the second half of the game which is the reason why the captain getting it right at the toss won’t entertain the thought of batting first.

Playing Combination

Kolkata Knight Riders

Probable Changes – Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi in, Rinku Singh and Vinay Kumar out

Rinku Singh was given a go in the first two games and he didn’t come true to the trust of the management as he got out playing pretty average shots on both occasions. It’s hard to see him getting another opportunity, especially with KKR having a couple of other quality options in the dugout. Gill will have a crack in the middle order now and he will probably bat 4, which will push Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik a position down each, to 5 and 6 respectively.

Vinay Kumar is another player who has not enhanced his reputation at all as a T20 bowler in IPL 11 as he has been smacked for a total of 65 runs in the 23 deliveries that he has bowled in the two games so far and he is all, but certain to be dropped in the favour of an 19-year old Shivam Mavi who will make his maiden appearance in the IPL.

Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (C & WK), Andre Russell, Shivam Mavi, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Probable Changes – No change

The Sunrisers rested Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the last game as he had a sore back and Sandeep Sharma who replaced him in the XI filled into his boots perfectly as he bowled a couple of really tight spells in the power-play and in the death and got two wickets as well.

With Sandeep performing as well as he did, it’s unlikely that the SRH management will rush Bhuvi, considering it’s a long tournament and he will be incredibly valuable for the side in the latter stages. The 28-year-old will probably be given an extended breather and Sandeep will retain his spot in the XI.

Billy Stanlake proved a tad expensive against the Mumbai Indians, but he removed two of their match-winners, Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard and did his job. He is an attacking bowler and the captain Kane Williamson won’t mind him going for a few runs as long as he provides him with the vital wickets.

Predicted XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Kane Williamson (C), Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Rashid Khan, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Billy Stanlake

Team Comparison

KKR look all sorted with their batting. Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn have been entrusted with the job of going all-out in the powerplay, while Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana are the enforcers in the middle phase. Both of them are highly potent players against slow bowling and nullify the spinners with a variety of shots both off the front foot and the back foot. They are really good sweeping the ball as well, Uthappa in particular with the slog-sweep over midwicket.

Down the order, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell are as capable finishing the innings as anyone else in the world and it’s only a couple of days back that they showed it at Chepauk. It’s a gun batting unit.

As far as Hyderabad’s batting is concerned, the loopholes in their batting were evident last night when the young Mayank Markande ran through their middle order. Even though Deepak Hooda finished it expertly at the end, Tom Moody & Co. will be slightly concerned. They might want to promote Yusuf Pathan to no. 4 and allow him to play his natural game while holding Manish and Hooda back for the finishing job.

Hyderabad, however, has no such issues in the bowling department. They are probably the best attack in the tournament for the variety and the quality that they have. Rashid Khan and Billy Stanlake are absolute match winners, while Siddharth Kaul has also made a big impact so far. Not to forget the ever consistent Shakib Al Hasan who has been at his accurate best as well.

KKR has certain weak areas in their bowling. Their trump card will be the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Narine. They will expect a better performance from Tom Curran too who looked a bit nervous on his debut at Chepauk.