Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kolkata Knight Riders: 38th IPL Match Preview

Azeem Siddiqui gives his preview for Sunday's 38th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kolkata Knight Riders: 38th IPL Match Preview
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Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the match 38 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Hyderabad on Sunday. The game is an interesting one for both teams as they have eight points each, but Kolkata have played a game more than Hyderabad. Therefore, Dinesh Karthik-led unit will need a positive result to keep things under control moving forward. In the previous meeting between both teams earlier in the competition, it was KKR who came out on top with a six-wicket margin.

Knight Riders will come in the match on Sunday low on confidence as they've suffered a narrow 10-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday, which was their fourth consecutive loss. In the batting department, the visitors will be relying on the likes of captain Karthik, in-from Andre Russell, dangerous Chris Lynn and veteran right-hander Robin Uthappa to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine to provide timely breakthroughs.

On the other hand, Hyderabad will come in the match feeling upbeat after registering an impressive six-wicket win in their previous match against Chennai Super Kings. In the batting department, the home side will be relying on the likes of Australia's David Warner, England's Jonny Bairstow and captain Kane Williamson to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Bhuvneshwar

Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the match 38 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Hyderabad on Sunday. The game is an interesting one for both teams as they have eight points each, but Kolkata have played a game more than Hyderabad. Therefore, Dinesh Karthik-led unit will need a positive result to keep things under control moving forward. In the previous meeting between both teams earlier in the competition, it was KKR who came out on top with a six-wicket margin.

Knight Riders will come in the match on Sunday low on confidence as they've suffered a narrow 10-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday, which was their fourth consecutive loss. In the batting department, the visitors will be relying on the likes of captain Karthik, in-from Andre Russell, dangerous Chris Lynn and veteran right-hander Robin Uthappa to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine to provide timely breakthroughs.

On the other hand, Hyderabad will come in the match feeling upbeat after registering an impressive six-wicket win in their previous match against Chennai Super Kings. In the batting department, the home side will be relying on the likes of Australia's David Warner, England's Jonny Bairstow and captain Kane Williamson to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and leg-spinner Rashid Khan to provide timely breakthroughs.

Pitch Conditions: Pitch at the venue in the last three matches has proven to be a difficult one for the batsmen where only once a team managed to post a total in excess of 150.

Player Recommendations:

David Warner (Batsman)

First in the list of key players features Sunrisers Hyderabad's David Warner. The Australia international is having an excellent tournament with the bat in hand where he is the leading run-scorer with 450 runs in eight matches at an outstanding average of 75 and with a strike-rate of 145.16.

Jonny Bairstow (Wicketkeeper)

Second in the list of key players features Sunrisers Hyderabad's Jonny Bairstow. The England international is having a great time with the bat in hand as he is the second-highest run-getter for Hyderabad with 365 runs at an average of 52.14 and with a strike-rate of 153.36.

Andre Russell (All-rounder)

Third in the list of key players features Kolkata Knight Riders' Andre Russell. The veteran all-rounder is having a brilliant tournament with the bat in hand where he is the leading run-scorer for the franchise and fourth-highest run-getter in the competition with 377 runs at an outstanding average of 75.40. Those numbers become even more impressive if they are combined with a strike-rate of 220.46, which is the best by any batsman who has scored more than 100 runs in the ongoing competition.

Rashid Khan (Bowler)

Last in the list of key players features Sunrisers Hyderabad's Rashid Khan. The right-arm leggie is having a pretty average tournament according to his own high standards as he has only managed to claim eight wickets in as many matches at a strike-rate of 24. However, in Hyderabad's previous match against Chennai, Khan seemed to have his rhythm back as he claimed figures of two for 17 and played a vital role in team's success.  

Pick for uncapped player: Shubman Gill

Predicted Playing XI:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Kane Williamson (captain), Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper & captain), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Passionate sports follower in the field of sports journalism for more than five years. Loves writing about cricket, football, and tennis.
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