Head to head
Last season: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in two of their three encounters – by eight wickets and 22 runs respectively. The only match they lost was the Eliminator, where Sunrisers won by 22 runs on their way to a maiden IPL title.
Overall: Knight Riders have won six out of the nine matches between the two sides. At Eden Gardens, their record stands at four wins in four matches.
In the news
Moises Henriques missed Sunrisers’ last match due to an illness, after scoring successive fifties in the first two. A team source said he trained with them on the eve of the match but the only spot available to him might be Ben Cutting’s. David Warner is the captain, Mustafizur Rahman is likely to get a longer run and Rashid Khan has performed impressively enough to stay in the XI.
For Knight Riders, Trent Boult’s early form could be a source of concern. The New Zealand quick has been unlucky, with fielders having missed catches off his bowling in the last two matches. He has also conceded 123 runs for one wicket so far with an economy rate of 10.39, the third poorest among those who have bowled more than 10 overs this season, after Ashok Dinda (11.9) and Mitchell McClenaghan (10.75).
The Knight Riders’ middle order has not had much to do in two of their three games so far. That might change, given the potency of Sunrisers’ attack. With Chris Lynn still recovering from a shoulder injury, KKR might look to fill his spot with an allrounder. Colin de Grandhomme performed the role on Thursday, but he could face competition from Shakib Al Hasan and Rovman Powell, whose playing style has been likened to Andre Russell’s by the franchise’s CEO.
Likely XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 David Warner (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Ben Cutting / Moises Henriques, 6 Naman Ojha (wk), 7 Vijay Shankar / Bipul Sharma, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Robin Uthappa (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Yusuf Pathan, 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Colin de Grandhomme / Shakib Al Hasan / Rovman Powell, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Trent Boult
