Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders will face each other in the 68th match of the ongoing IPL season on 25th May at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Match Preview:
One excellent leveler is cricket. Failure is unavoidable, just as triumph is ephemeral, and it is precisely this unpredictability that makes sports so beautiful. In T20 cricket, where momentum fluctuates rapidly like a misfiring seesaw, this is particularly true.
Sunrisers Hyderabad dominated Rajasthan Royals in a record-breaking victory to start the season in a big way. However, their early success was characterized by a high-octane batting style that quickly lost its edge. The opposing teams countered with shrewd tactics to reduce SRH’s firepower, and because their bowling was based on containment rather than attack, any blunder by the bat exposed the squad.
Travis Head’s younger partner, Abhishek Sharma, was given more responsibilities because he was unable to reach the heights he had previously attained. Despite a few outstanding innings from Abhishek, SRH eventually lacked the team spirit that had made them such a powerful force in 2024.
Having won back-to-back games, Pat Cummins’ team enters this match with some momentum. After easily chasing down a target of more over 200 against LSG in Lucknow, SRH went on to defend a solid 231 against RCB at the same location.
Though a bit too late, it’s safe to say that their batting has regained some of its early-season flair. The Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi will host this game, and SRH’s hitters will once more rely on a surface that frequently rewards strokeplay.
But Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, the tournament’s most formidable spin combination, will be their opponent. The two have been excellent all season, ruthlessly restricting batters and providing little room for error, even though KKR is out of the running for the playoffs.
Unfortunately, except from their skill at spin and the rare hitting display from a few players, the reigning champs had little more to offer. Venkatesh Iyer’s high-profile signing hasn’t worked out this season; in fact, the left-hander hasn’t even been included in the starting lineup in recent games.
Ironically, KKR’s middle overs batting frequently costs them vital momentum against formidable opponents, and their batters have struggled to handle spin. KKR’s bowling hasn’t performed particularly poorly, but their hitting problems have been crucial.
A few important members of the 2024 championship team had to leave the holders as well, but this is inevitable when a huge auction takes place. They still have a respectable core, and the side should be able to turn things around with some tactical adjustments and some wise mini-auction purchases. In addition to trying to finish strong, they have one more opportunity this season to try out a few other things. Making three straight will provide some solace for SRH during a season in which they could have performed far better.
Probable Playing XIIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Luvnith Sisodia (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 5 Venkatesh Iyer/Manish Pandey, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Vaibhav Arora
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Abhinav Manohar, 8 Harsh Dubey, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Eshan Malinga, 12 Jaydev Unadkat.
Pitch and weather report:
Hot weather with heavy humidity and temperatures in the mid-30s. Six-hitting will be popular because of the compact ground dimensions and the high-scoring pitches here. Spinners have received some assistance, but not enough to prevent runfests. Another high-scoring match is to be expected.
Head-to-head record:
KKR has a strong record against SRH, winning 20 matches while SRH has won 9. Recently, KKR has been on a roll, winning 6 out of their last 8 meetings. They even took home the championship title last year, so SRH will be looking to turn things around.
Prediction:
Kolkata are favourite to win this upcoming game of the season
Where to watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Afghanistan: ATN
MENA: Cricbuzz
