SRH vs KKR preview: Sunrisers look for morale-boosting win

Onus on batting as they face equally-struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad today

Hyderabad: Placed ninth in the points table with just six points from eight games, Sunrisers Hyderabad look to brighten their playoffs hopes when they host equally struggling Kolkata Knight Riders, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Sunrisers ended their three-match losing streak with a nine-run win over bottom-placed Delhi Capitals in their previous match and look to extend their winning against the Nitish Rana-led side. The hosts, whose batting has blown hot and cold, had a fairly good outing with the bat against Capitals in the last match. Opening the innings, southpaw Abhishek Sharma (67 off 39) hit a fluent half-century while Henriech Klaasen provided the impetus to the innings with a 27-ball 53.

---

Abhishek’s success as opener will force the management to stick to the same combination but his partner Mayank Agarwal hasn’t performed to his potential yet. Concerns remain with the top-order failing to get into the groove. Rahul Tripathi, captain Aiden Markram are not really hitting the stride while Harry Brook, after his century against same opponents KKR, too failed miserably. However, facing them again could motivate him to come to the party.

With the ball, SRH have performed decently. Veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been providing crucial breakthroughs with the new ball while Natarajan looked like he is back to his best finding his toe-crushing yorkers in the previous match. Leg-spinner Mayank Markande has been their leading wicket-taker. However, speed merchant Umran Malik’s poor show is a major headache. He has been leaking runs in plenty, an issue the management needs to address quickly.

The visitors too are in a similar boat. The Kolkata team is placed just a rung above SRH with six points from nine games. The two-time champions, who lost Shreyas Iyer to injury, too failed to fire in unison in all departments. However, their batting looks better on paper compared to Hyderabad.

The inclusion of Jason Roy has provided a new dimension while the Afghanistan wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s knock against Gujarat Titans in the last match showed what he is capable of. However, they have to deal with the restriction on foreign players in the side, forcing them to leave one of them out.

With Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh in the line-up, it is more than capable of tearing into any opposition’s bowling. The West Indies’ all-rounder Andre Russell has been going through a lean patch and he is due for a big one. If he comes into his zone, no ground is big enough for the Caribbean superstar.

Knight Riders bowling too looks unsettled. While the pace department lacks a big name, much of the work was left to their spinners. Sunil Narine is struggling to find his mojo while the other spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma are doing ok.
With so much at stake going into the match, both teams are eager to snatch the crucial two points. While hosts look to do a double on KKR, the visitors seek to revive their campaign with a win.