IPL 10, Eliminator, SRH v KKR Preview: Battle of equals as Kolkata Knight Riders take on the defending champions

The Kolkata Knight Riders will rue the fact that they did not finish in the top two of the points table at the conclusion of the league stages. They had every opportunity of doing so and have nobody else but themselves to blame for this. KKR were one of the first teams to reach to the 14-points mark and looked set to be the table toppers. However, a couple of defeats followed and the story changed drastically.

Now, after having finished on the number 4 spot, they find themselves on the Eliminator date against the defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH has had a strong campaign and they look good for the title defense. Both teams are equally matched on paper and hence a thrilling contest awaits the fan in the big game. The winner of the game will lock horns against the losers of the Qualifier 1 in the Qualifier 2.

On the other hand, the losing team will crash out of the tournament. Considering the high-intensity game, both teams will be looking up to their captains – Gautam Gambhir for KKR and David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the match. The team that deals with pressure effectively shall flourish and the other would perish. The match will be played at the neutral venue in Bengaluru and hence there is no talk about the home advantage for either of the sides.

Focus will be on

David Warner

Sunrisers skipper David Warner has shouldered the responsibility of his team thus far. The team has been heavily relying on his services this season. The Australian opener is not new to all this. Ever since the previous edition of the tournament, Warner has been shouldering the responsibility of the bulk scoring along with his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan. He is the Orange Cap holder at the moment. In the 13 matches that he has played, he has amassed 604 runs at an average of 60.40 with 4 fifties and a ton to his name.

Gautam Gambhir

Much like his Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner, Gautam Gambhir will have to ensure he absorbs the pressure for his side. Gambhir needs to figure out his batting position in the lineup. With the KKR openers – Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine – being very unpredictable in their style of play, the pressure comes down to Gambhir to aid experience to the KKR batting.

Rashid Khan

Young Afghanistan leggier Rashid Khan has been a revelation this season. He has been the only frontline spinner in the SRH lineup. The SRH skipper, David Warner, has been heavily relying on his services this season. Rashid has responded well too. He is fifth in the list of leading wicket takers this season. In the 13 matches that he has played, Rashid has scalped 17 wickets with a best of 3/19. He has an economy as impressive as 6.67.

Team Combinations

Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad had a very convincing win in their previous game against the Gujarat Lions. They had managed to beat the Lions by 8 wickets to storm into the playoffs. The team management is likely to retain the same playing eleven for the all-important qualifier. Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner have been consistent run-getters and sit comfortably at the top in the Orange Cap contenders. Vijay Shankar, with only a handful of games this season, has been quite impressive.

He hit an unbeaten fifty in the previous game and hence is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven. Yuvraj Singh is most likely to be back in the playing side at the expense of Deepak Hooda. His addition will beef up the middle-order. The bowling department needs no tinkering at all. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the spearhead, Siddharth Kaul and Mohammed Siraj have been doing a fantastic supporting job. Rashid Khan has been the leader in spin department.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to stick to the same eleven that played for them in the last game against the Mumbai Indians. Sunil Narine, despite having failed in the last game, will open the inning with Chris Lynn. Gautam Gambhir will come at number 3 to aid stability. Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa have runs under their belt this season. Yusuf Pathan had shown some glimpses of power hitting in the last game.

Colin de Grandhomme has been playing the role of supporting bowler in case one of the bowlers has an off day at the office. Trent Boult could be the only one missing out on the game with Nathan Coulter-Nile replacing him in the eleven. Ankit Rajpoot and Umesh Yadav will be the two Indian pacers in the lineup. Among the spinners, Kuldeep Yadav will be the second fiddle to Sunil Narine.

Probable XI:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Vijay Shankar, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Nabi, Naman Ojha(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Gautam Gambhir(c), Robin Uthappa(w), Manish Pandey, Colin de Grandhomme, Yusuf Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot.

StatAttack

11 – Number of times the two sides have faced each other in IPL history. KKR have won only on 7 occasions and SRH have won 4 times.

32  – Number of runs needed by Shikhar Dhawan to complete 500 runs this season.

46 – Number of runs needed by Gautam Gambhir to complete 500 runs this season.