Today's Match details--
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 19th Match
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
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What to expect: The one game in Kolkata so far was all about RCB's capitulation against spin. However, the surface is perhaps the best-suited one for pace in the country, particularly in the first half, and even the spinners have been known to hurry the batsmen. Expect a high-scoring encounter, barring a googly-collapse like last time.
Head-to-head: KKR dominate the head-to-head with 15 wins and 8 losses overall against the Sunrisers, and even more so at the Eden with 6 wins and just 2 losses! In fact SRH have won only one game at the Eden against KKR since 2020.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Tactics and match-ups: Andre Russell has failed to fire in this tournament, and KKR desperately need him to do so. Perhaps this is his moment -- since 2019, he averages 58 against KKR, scoring at a strike-rate of 181. In fact, his numbers against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the leader of the bowling line-up, reads 63 off 31 balls, with a strike-rate north of 200 and just one dismissal. It's time for Andre Russell to come to the party. The force of mathematics certainly favours him.
Probable XI: Jason Roy, N Jagadeesan (w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Tactics and match-ups: The Sunrisers are likely to go in with the same XI, and persist with Harry Brook despite his run of low scores, especially with the faster surface in Kolkata. They're also likely to sub in Abdul Samad for the finishing role. Rahul Tripathi averages 34.88 against the Sunrisers striking at 163, and over 46 against KKR at Eden Gardens striking at 175. Expect him to take over from where he left off in the last game. Mayank Agarwal, however, has struggled against spin since 2019, averaging 14.88 against leg-break, including 16 dismissals in 27 innings.
Probable XI: Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Mayank Markande, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik
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