IPL 2017 | Eliminator Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

05/17/2017

Kolkata Knight Riders and defending Champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will square off against each other in the first eliminator in the Indian Premier League, today, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The winner of the game will play Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier at the same venue.

Both the teams have showcased a similar type of performances in the league stage, having won eight games each. But both the teams had suffered a dip in form in the fag end of the tournament and were thus forced to take the arduous route of playing the eliminator.

Head to head:

Kolkata lead 7-4.

Last meeting:

Riding on a scintillating 126 runs from skipper David Warner, Hyderabad scampered home by 48 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal.

Fan Predictions: As part of the preview, we bring to you fan predictions for the talking points of the game. The predictions are sourced from the newest fantasy game on the block – Nostragamus. If you want to make your predictions and win prizes, click here.

Who will win?

A. SRH B. KKR

KKR hold a 7-4 lead over SRH in the overall Head to Head between the two teams. Also, SRH has to win all 3 of their playoffs last season to be Champions & they defeated KKR at the exact same situation as this last season. While SRH have won 3 of their last 5 matches whereas KKR have won only 1 of their last 5 matches. SRH has the upper hand when it comes to recent form. Hence we predict SRH would win this fixture.

Fans verdict: The fans are with us on this one, as 57% think SRH will win.

Which team will post the bigger opening stand?

A. SRH B. KKR

Both teams have been dependent on their top order for runs. Plus, KKR have the biggest opening partnership (184*) this season, while SRH have the 4th biggest (139, which coincidentally came vs KKR). But SRH have traditional openers opening the innings, Dhawan and Warner, unlike KKR who has a pinch hitter like Narine and a traditional opener Chris Lynn opening the KKR batting. Narine goes in with a hit or get out attitude which increases the probability of KKR losing a wicket early. Hence we predict SRH to post the bigger opening standing than KKR.

Fans verdict: The fans are with us on this one, as 64% think SRH post the bigger opening standing than KKR.

Predicted XI:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: SRH will take a close look at Yuvraj Singh’s finger injury closely and if he gets fit before the match, the team might rope him in at the expense of Vijay Shankar. The team think-tank might opt for an extra batsman in the form of Kane Williamson due to the unpredictable nature of the Chinnaswamy deck, but letting Mohammad Nabi go seems very unlikely.

David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Yuvraj Singh/Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Nabi, Naman Ojha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj

Kolkata Knight Riders: For, Kolkata, there aren’t many selection calls to make given how balanced the side looks at the moment. So, they might play an unchanged XI that lost to Mumbai Indians in their last league of the season.

Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Manish Pandey, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Colin de Grandhomme, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot

Key Players:

David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad): The Sunrisers captain is the leading run-scorer of the tournament and seems to have an affinity for KKR bowlers this season, scoring 152 runs in two matches, thus far.

Chris Lynn (Kolkata Knight Riders): If Lynn would be able to unleash the fireworks from the outset, then KKR will breathe easy and if they can post a big score, KKR spinners are expected to defend that on the slow Chinnaswamy deck.

Pre-match chatter:

"We're fully aware of the challenges that teams have faced here in Bangalore. Last year when we played the final here, if we didn't get 200 plus, we weren't in the contest. This year if you get 150-160, you're very much in the contest. So you need to adapt, the way you play."- Tom Moody, Sunrisers coach

"We have to pull up our socks. It does not matter whether we are in the play-offs or not. If we have to win the tournament we will have to bat sensibly."- Gautam Gambhir, KKR skipper.

Time: 8 PM

Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

TV Listings: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Set Max, Sony ESPN