Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were the runners-up in the last Indian Premier League (IPL) final. They lost the final largely due to the fact that their destructive opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma failed to fire the way they did while storming their team to the final. For SRH, this season has felt like a fever dream, with that final on repeat. Their openers have similarly failed to fire this season, and this game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who won that same final, might bring back peak memories of that night.
KKR, themselves, too, haven’t had a season that a title-defending team would have hoped for. Like SRH, they have also long been out of the race for the playoffs. And all both teams can do now is salvage some pride and better their table standings. A win will shoot either side to No. 5, which, in a tournament that has only been about dismal outings, is still a better bargain than ending among the lower lot.
SRH have won two games since the resumption of the league, while KKR’s only game was washed out, keeping them without any game practice for almost 20 days. This gives SRH all the morale they need to end the season on a high note.
Team Overview:
The Travishek pair showed their 2023 self briefly in their last game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The pair notched up 54 runs in only four overs before falling apart in consecutive overs. While they couldn’t play a longer innings, they did provide a foundation over which the rest of the batters, especially Ishan Kishan, built a daunting 231-run total. Kishan struck a 48-ball 94 knock, which didn’t look like it came off the bat of a player who had only scored more than 30 runs thrice before this season. Pat Cummins stepping up late in the season gives SRH hope for the future as they sign off for the year. Since the resumption of the league, SRH’s bowling has done fairly well in comparison to their shoddy bowling before the suspension, their bowlers averaging 27.35 in three games, which is the third-best for all sides.
KKR haven’t played any game after the tournament started again, though they must have used that time to get over their woeful defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings (CSK). They were ahead of CSK for nearly the entire game, until they were not, and saw Chennai win a game that essentially ended their chances for the playoffs. Their season has stumbled, largely on the back of an unreliable middle order as well as a very leaky home record, where their bowlers have been twice as expensive as on the road. While Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been a sole bright spot in the middle order with somewhat consistent scores, others, including Venkatesh Iyer and Ramandeep Singh, have failed to step up to expectations. Rahmanullah Gurbaz seemed to have done a decent job for KKR with his quickfire runs in the last few games, but KKR might want to test some of their bench strength.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Out of 29 games both sides have faced each other, SRH have only won 9, while KKR got over the line in the remaining 20.
Weather and Pitch Report:
For venues which have hosted at least five games this season, Arun Jaitley Stadium has seen the fourth-most runs being scored per over. The lowest total scored here is 162, which is quite telling of what the surface will have on offer. With the weather being dry, spinners would be a captain’s best friend here.
Prediction:
SRH have lost to KKR in their last five games, which makes winning this game even more difficult as well as crucial at the same time.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
