Nitish Rana’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to host Aiden Markram’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. KKR began their campaign with a loss, but recovered to register two straight win and now have a Net Run Rate (NRR) of 1.375. Meanwhile, SRH suffered two back-to-back losses starting their campaign this season but managed a win in their last match against Punjab Kings.
In terms of head-to-head records in the last five matches, KKR have secured four wins while SRH have only managed the one victory.
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Preview
Kolkata Knight Riders come into this match a confident lot as they play Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2023’s 19th match. The hosts scripted a memorable victory against defending champions Gujarat Titans, while Hyderabad earned their first points of the season after beating Punjab Kings in their last game.
KKR are riding on back-to-back wins, and with the home crowd behind them, stand a strong chance of securing a third straight victory. The Sunrisers’ record at the Eden Gardens is somewhat lacklustre, a factor that could affect their performance. Their bowlers will need to bowl their hearts out if they are to contain the Knight Riders’ batters. That said, fans can expect a cracker of an event between the two sides that are otherwise well matched.
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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match details
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Match 19, IPL 2023
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Date & Time: Friday, April 14, 7:30 pm IST
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KKR vs SRH pitch report
The Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata is known for assisting the batters and chasing down even larger totals is possible. Fans can expect a high-scoring contest as is evident from the previous match between the Knight Riders and their South Indian rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, both sides will need to rely heavily on their spinners, who could play a major role as the match progresses. The best choice for either skipper who wins the toss would be to bowl first, restrict the opposition to anything under 160, and chase down the target.
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Prediction
While Sunrisers Hyderabad are no pushovers, their form in the last few seasons has been anything but impressive. They will face an uphill task of having to bring down their Kolkata rivals in their own backyard, which is no mean feat. The Knight Riders, meanwhile, know that they have form on their side and along with the backing of their supporters, should be able to register a straightforward victory. However, all that remains to be seen until matchday.
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KKR vs SRH probable playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Narayan Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH):
Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T Natarajan
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The match will be played at 7:30 pm IST.
