Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 8 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Saturday. SRH, who lost the opening game to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 45 runs on Tuesday, will aim to win this tie and get their first win of the tournament, along with the all-crucial two points at home; KKR, on the other hand, lost their second game to defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at home on Wednesday, by 6 wickets, after thrashing Delhi Daredevils in their opening match. KKR will look to go back to the winning ways and get their vehicle, in pursuit of the third title, on track. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2016, Match 8 at Hyderabad
Considering their performance in the previous games, though SRH put up a stellar performance with bat, it was not enough as their poor bowling had already allowed RCB to post a mammoth total on the board. It turned out to be too big for SRH. As for KKR, though they managed to put up a challenging total on the board, courtesy some really good batting, the bowling line-up failed to fire as MI batsmen smashed them all over the park, and took the two points away from them, thus denying KKR a second straight win in the tournament.
The SRH bowling The bowling performance of SRH against RCB in the previous game, Mustafizur Rahman impressed with 4-0-26-2 in a total of 227 for 4. However, barring Mustafizur, none of the other bowlers were able to make an impact, while Karn Sharma became the most expensive bowler, with 4-0-57-0.
Nevertheless, SRH came up with a strong batting performance in reply to RCB’s total, courtesy some real good batting from skipper David Warner and Ashish Reddy, who scored 58 and 32 respectively. The two batsmen, the others contributed decently, as SRH reached a face-saving 182 for 6 before running out of overs, thus resulting in a massive 45-run loss.
KKR, on the other hand, batted commendably despite losing the toss against MI. Skipper Gautam Gambhir scored 64, supported by Manish Pandey (52). Andre Russell, too, contributed with 36, as KKR posted a taxing total of 187. However, MI had some other plans with bat, as despite the total being a tough one to chase at Eden Gardens, they managed to chase it down. KKR bowlers had a tough night as only three bowlers, Russell, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav, were able to claim a wicket each, thus allowing MI batsmen to run away with the game.
Regardless of these matches, and with both the teams coming off losing performances, they will be looking desperately to make statements and win here. Changes in the sides are likely. For SRH, Deepak Hooda can miss out; he may be replaced by KL Rahul or Siddharth Kaul. Shikhar Dhawan has been shaky of late, but it is highly that he will be dropped in the initial stages of the tournament. Karn may also miss out, and can be replaced by Barinder Sran or Abhimanyu Mithun. Naman Ojha may be dropped for Aditya Tare.
KKR, on the other hand, could well replace Brad Hogg with Sunil Narine, and finally give him a go-ahead with his remodelled action, to check how impactful he can be. Additionally, John Hastings may make way for Morne Morkel, so far a successful bowler for the team in the past seasons. It is unlikely that they will fiddle with the batting line-up, though Colin Munro may be replaced by Chris Lynn or Shakib Al Hasan.
With the game being played in Hyderabad, a solid capacity crowd is expected to flock the stadium in support of the home team. The Hyderabad track is typically flat, and the team winning the toss will probably want to chase. Thus both the teams are likely to have a strong batting line-up and also have an extra spinner in the side. The teams are also expected to pick an extra spinner.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa (wk), Sheldon Jackson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Brad Hogg, Chris Lynn, Morne Morkel, Shakib Al Hasan, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Rajpoot, John Hastings, Jason Holder, Colin Munro, Rajgopal Sathish, Manan Sharma.
Time: 16:00 IST | 10:30 GMT
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(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)
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