The upcoming match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is expected to be a close one. Both teams are currently at the bottom of the IPL 2023 points table, along with the Delhi Capitals, and need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The winner of this match will have a good chance of making a comeback in the tournament.
In their previous encounter this season, Harry Brook’s blistering century helped SRH win the match. However, facing KKR’s spin trio this time around, he may have to work harder. KKR has bowled 100+ overs of spin and picked up the most number of wickets among all teams in the tournament. Andre Russell may be asked to bowl early in the game to exploit his superior record against Rahul Tripathi and Mayank Agarwal.
The weather forecast for the match is a humid evening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The conditions are likely to favor spinners, which could work in KKR’s favor.
SRH is expected to retain the same group that won against Delhi Capitals in their previous match. They may replace Akeal Hosein with Marco Jansen. KKR has a tough decision to make at the top of the order, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s impressive 81 in the last game. If Jason Roy is fit, he may replace David Wiese as the fourth overseas player.
In terms of head-to-head, KKR has won 12 out of the 19 matches played against SRH. However, based on the current form and the balance of the squad, SRH appears to be the stronger team on paper.
Probable XI:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (C), Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Abdul Samad, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik
Kolkata Knight Riders: Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (C), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Suyash Sharma
Considering all these factors, our prediction for the match is 45% in favor of SRH and 55% in favor of KKR. It’s going to be an exciting and closely contested game of cricket, with both teams giving it their all to keep their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive.
