The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders have had a tough IPL 2023 season, reflecting in their standings in the points table as they sit at the bottom with the Delhi Capitals. However, the table shows that all is not lost, as even the Delhi Capitals are still in contention for a playoff berth.
The KKR’s form has declined since their bright start, and the SRH has been erratic. Nonetheless, the team that secures a win on Thursday will have a good chance of making a comeback to join the rest of the teams in the race for a playoff spot.
The SRH side will likely retain the same group as the one that finally seemed to get things right in their last match against the Delhi Capitals. They may replace Akeal Hosein with Marco Jansen. The KKR will likely have a tough call to make at the top of the order after Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s impressive 81 in the last game.
When the two teams clashed earlier this season, Harry Brook set the IPL on fire with a blistering century. This time around, facing a barrage of spin against the KKR spin trio, he may have to work harder. But the SRH do have other batters to tackle that spin trio, making them the more superior outfit on paper.
In terms of the conditions, a humid evening awaits the players at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
KKR has bowled 100+ overs of spin which constitutes 60% of their total overs and picked 33 wickets, the most by a team. Andre Russell usually bowls at death overs for KKR these days, but there is high chances for him to bowl little early in the game.
Overall, the winner of this clash will keep their hopes alive, while the loser will become the first side this season to register their seventh loss.
Weather Forecast:
A humid evening awaits the players at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Head to Head:
KKR and SRH have faced each other 19 times, with KKR winning 12 times and SRH winning seven times.
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
