🏏 IPL 2024 ~ Match N 3 ~ KKR vs SRH @ 7.30 PM IST

🏏Kolkata Knights Rider vs Sunrise Hyderabad in Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on 23/03/23 at 07.30 PM IST

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Iyer's return, Cummins vs Starc the subplots as KKR take on SRH.

SRH are likely to be without Hasaranga in what is expected to be spin-friendly conditions at Eden Gardens.

In December, Pat Cummins became the most expensive player at an IPL auction when SRH bought him for INR 20.5 crore (US$2.47 million approx.). But the record did not survive for even two hours as KKR broke the bank for Mitchell Starc, signing him for INR 24.75 crore (US$2.98 million approx.).

On the first weekend of IPL 2024, those two will come face-to-face in Kolkata.

Cummins had a dream 2023, where he led Australia to the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup titles. But this is his first captaincy stint in T20 cricket, and leading an IPL team is vastly different from leading a national side. And while Cummins the bowler is already on the path to greatness in Test cricket, the same cannot be said about him in T20s.

SRH have got a new coach as well: Daniel Vettori. That makes it the fourth consecutive season where they have a new captain and a new coach. Once among the most consistent IPL teams, SRH finished twice at the bottom and once at No. 8 - among ten teams - in the last three seasons. Can Cummins and Vettori revive their fortunes?

One man who played a key role in Cummins' success as Australia captain last year was Starc. For KKR, he will have to play an even bigger role as there is no other world-class seamer in the squad.

The last time Starc featured in the IPL was in 2015. Playing for RCB, he had picked up 20 wickets in 13 games at an economy of 6.76. Since then, he has gone for 8.14 an over in 41 T20Is. During the 2022 T20 World Cup, Australia even left him out for a match. With the next T20 World Cup in June, he, too, has a point to prove.

Team news - Shreyas Iyer back for KKR

Shreyas Iyer is back as KKR captain after missing the 2023 season. There were some concerns over his fitness recently as he did not field on the last two days of the Ranji Trophy final because of back spasms. But earlier this week, he featured in KKR's intra-squad practice match and is fit to play on Saturday. Dushmantha Chameera, though, is likely to be unavailable for the first few games after suffering a quadriceps injury during the first ODI against Afghanistan.

Wanindu Hasaranga is unavailable at least for the first game. His status is a little unclear, since he is in Sri Lanka's Test squad in Bangladesh but can't really play those games as he is serving an ICC suspension. In a way, his absence makes Cummins' task of picking four overseas players easier.

Impact Player strategy

Kolkata Knight Riders

If KKR bat first, they can start with Nitish Rana. In the second innings, Suyash Sharma can replace him as Impact Player. The opposite can be done if they bowl first.

Probable XII: 1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Ramandeep Singh, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Suyash Sharma

There is arguably a better strategy if a team bats first. For example, if KKR are batting first, Ramandeep Singh can come in as Impact Player for a dismissed Nitish, if required. If there is no such need, Vaibhav Arora can replace Nitish at the start of the second innings to further bolster the bowling.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

If SRH are batting first, they can start with Abdul Samad and replace him with T Natarajan in the second half. Vice versa if they bowl first.

Probable XII: 1 Abhishek Sharma/Mayank Agarwal, 2 Travis Head, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Umran Malik, 12 T Natarajan

Or, if they are batting first, they can bring in Abdul Samad for a dismissed Rahul Tripathi, if required. Else, Jaydev Unadkat can replace Tripathi in the second innings.

Go KKR

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Stats that matter - Russell vs Klaasen

• Among those who have hit at least 50 sixes in the last 12 months, Andre Russell has done it most frequently, clearing the boundary once every 6.1 balls. Heinrich Klaasen is second on the list, with 7.3 balls per six
• Russell and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be up against each other at the death - a match-up Russell enjoys. He has smashed Bhuvneshwar for 72 runs off 34 balls(strike rate 211.76) while getting out twice
• Shreyas Iyer has struggled against Bhuvneshwar and Umran Malik. Against Bhuvneshwar, he has scored only 44 runs in 49 balls in T20s while getting out three times. Against Malik, it's two dismissals in 15 balls for 16 runs
• Since the start of 2020, Iyer has had a strike of 119.34 against legspin. SRH have Mayank Markande to exploit that weakness
• Mayank Agarwal has a sub-par record against most of the KKR bowlers: 12 runs in 17 balls (1 dismissal) against Mitchell Starc, 15 runs in 19 balls (1 dismissal) against Varun Chakravarthy, 22 runs in 24 balls (three dismissals) against Russell and 40 runs in 32 balls (two dismissals) against Sunil Narine
• KKR were the most expensive side in the powerplay last season, with an economy of 9.78. SRH were just below them, with 9.29. Both teams will be keen to correct that

Pitch and conditions

KKR won only two out of seven home games last season. Their bowling attack revolved around their spinners but the pitches were not helpful. However, during the 2023 ODI World Cup, Kolkata turned out to be the most spin-friendly venue. Given spin is once again KKR's stronger suit, expect the pitch for Saturday's match to be on the slower side. The temperature will hover around 25°C, with little chance of dew.

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