The second of Saturday’s matches in the IPL will see Sunrisers Hyderabad host the Kolkata Knight Riders in a clash with huge significance for the latter’s playoff hopes.
Kane Williamson’s Sunrisers Hyderabad were looking like the team to beat for much of the league stage but two defeats on the bounce have taken some sheen off their impressive run.
On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik’s Knight Riders are looking to secure a victory that will assure them of a place in the playoffs.
WHEELS COMING OFF THE TITLE CHALLENGERS
A string of five successive victories had catapulted the Sunrisers as the early-tournament favourites but that reputation has taken some beating with two defeats in as many matches.
After looking unbeatable at one point, the two defeats have exposed a vulnerability in the outfit which was previously absent.
Both the defeats for the Hyderabad franchise have come at home at the hands of Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. With Saturday being the final league fixture for Williamson’s men before the first qualifier, the hosts will be desperate to get that winning feeling back to gain some momentum.
KOLKATA HAVE BREATHING SPACE
Though a win for Kolkata would seal a playoff spot, they will not be out of contention even with a defeat. Their crucial victory over Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens has ensured that Karthik’s men have some breathing space.
The two-time champions have a much better net-run rate compared to the Royals and Kings XI Punjab who are among the five teams in contention for two playoff spots. Hence, although a win for these two sides in their final matches will bring them level on points with Kolkata, Karthik’s men could still sneak ahead due to their net run-rate.
What they will not want in case of a defeat on Saturday is for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians to achieve victories in the respective final league fixture since both sides have a much better net run-rate than Kolkata.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Sunrises Hyderabad: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Rashid Khan, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c, wk), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Javin Searles, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
