Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will square off against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 19th match of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, April 14 at the Eden Gardens.
KKR were not able to start their campaign on a good note as they succumbed to a seven-run loss (DLS method) at the hands of Punjab Kings. However, they bounced back in style and secured stunning wins over Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans.
In the encounter against the defending champions, Kolkata pulled off an incredible heist courtesy of a breathtaking knock from Rinku Singh (48* runs off 21 balls) where he hammered five consecutive sixes to take his team across the line. Nitish Rana & Co. would be entering the forthcoming clash high in spirits and would back themselves to trump the Hyderabad side.
Here's Kolkata Knight Riders’ predicted XI against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Narayan Jagadeesan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been a bankable name in the shortest format of the game. The 21-year-old is known to play an aggressive brand of cricket and put bowling attacks under the pump with his stroke play. He has featured in 127 T20 matches and amassed 3198 runs at a strike rate of 149.57.
Gurbaz has displayed his batting might in the 2023 season of the cash-rich league. He has featured in three matches and smashed 94 runs at a strike rate of 130.55. Further, the youngster has displayed glimpses of brilliance behind the stumps.
Talking about Gurbaz’s opening partner Narayan Jagadeesan, the 27-year-old has been a run-bank in the domestic circuit. He was magnificent with the bat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 and racked up an insane tally of 830 runs in eight games. Knight Riders would hope the Coimbatore-born replicates his domestic form in the IPL 2023.
Middle Order: Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh
Kolkata possess the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh in the middle order. Venkatesh has been a proven performer in the IPL arena and amassed 672 runs at a strike rate of 126.32. He showed his batting prowess in the encounter against Gujarat Titans and blasted 83 runs off 40 deliveries.
Talking about Nitish Rana, the southpaw has been an integral part of Kolkata Knight Riders since 2018. He has featured in 77 games for KKR and aggregated 1814 runs at a strike rate of 135.67. With Shreyas Iyer unavailable, Nitish was handed the reins of the side and he has done a decent job so far. The ace batter would look to be at his best in the upcoming encounter.
Coming to Rinku Singh, the 25-year-old has batted like a dream in the 16th IPL edition. He has smashed 98 runs in three games at a strike rate of 168.96. In the match against Gujarat, he played an innings for the ages to seal the game for his side. Rinku would look to play in the same vein against Sunrisers.
All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur
KKR have in their arsenal one of the most destructive batters in the T20 circuit, Andre Russell. Russell has put up an exhibition of his power-hitting might time and time again and knocked the wind out of top-quality bowling attacks.
Also, he has been a canny customer with the ball and provided timely breakthroughs to his side. The ace all-rounder would look to display his class in the clash on Friday.
Also, Kolkata have Sunil Narine in their ranks. Narine has tormented batters with his guile and made Indian Premier League his happy hunting ground. He has featured in 151 matches and bagged 158 wickets at an economy of 6.64.
The ace spinner has been at the top of his game in the ongoing edition and picked up six wickets in three games. He is a rich vein of form and could win the Purple Cap in IPL 2023.
Besides Russell and Narine, Nitish & Co. have Shardul Thakur in the mix. Shardul is a genuine wicket-taker and has bagged 83 wickets in 78 IPL matches at an economy of 9.13. Also, he has been more than handy with the bat and has played crucial knocks slotting in lower down the order.
Bowlers: Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy
Knight Riders have Umesh Yadav and Lockie Ferguson in the fast-bowling department. Umesh has been a prominent name in the IPL arena. He has featured in 136 games and bagged as many wickets at an economy of 8.31. The veteran pacer has been a tone-setter with the new ball for KKR and would put his best foot forward against Aiden Markram & Co.
Coming to Ferguson, the 31-year-old has rattled batters with his whizzing pace and wreaked havoc with the ball. He has featured in 36 matches and taken 36 scalps at an economy of 8.48. The speedster would look to put up a show with the ball in the coming game.
Moreover, KKR also possess Varun Chakaravarthy in their repertoire. The Indian spinner has bamboozled batters with his variations and chipped in with wickets at regular intervals. He has proved to be a great foil to Narine and even ripped through top-quality batting line-ups.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Narayan Jagadeesan, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Impact Players:
Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Narayan Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, Anukul Roy
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