IPL Double Header: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match Preview

Hyderabad. Today in IPL, a double header, meaning two matches are being played in one day. In the first match of the day, Sunrisers Hyderabad will face Kolkata Knight Riders. 

This match will start from 3:45 PM at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

This is the second time these two teams are meeting this season. In the previous encounter, Hyderabad had won by 65 runs. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad is currently in third place in the points table with 6 wins in 9 matches. The team is in excellent form and has won all of its last five matches. On the other hand, Kolkata is in eighth place with 2 wins in 8 matches.

• Head-to-Head, Kolkata Dominates

A total of 31 matches have been played between these two teams so far. Out of which Kolkata Knight Riders have won 19 matches, while Sunrisers Hyderabad has won only 11 matches. 

One match was tied, which Kolkata won in a super over. 7 matches have been played between the two teams at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. Out of which the home team Hyderabad has won 3 and Kolkata has won 4 matches.

Abhishek and Ishant Malinga are in Form

This season, Abhishek Sharma has been the most successful batter for Hyderabad. He has scored 425 runs in 9 matches at a strike rate of 209.35, including one century and three half-centuries.

In bowling, Ishant Malinga has performed excellently, taking 15 wickets in 9 matches.

Kolkata Relies on Rinku and Kartik

Rinku Singh has scored 215 runs in 8 matches for Kolkata so far. His strike rate is 141.44 and he has hit two half-centuries.

In bowling, Kartik Tyagi has strengthened the team by taking 9 wickets in 8 matches.

Who to Watch Out For 

• Travis Head 

Although an opener has not performed well for most of the season, Hyderabad's batting order is running well. Especially Travis Head had crossed the 40-run mark only once in his first eight matches and was struggling to find form. 

But that situation changed in the match against Mumbai Indians. He made his intentions clear by hitting three sixes off Trent Boult in the third over itself. The attractive six and four hit off Jasprit Bumrah clearly showed his return to form. 

He finished the innings with 76 runs off 30 balls. Now, with both Hyderabad openers in excellent form, Kolkata's worries may increase.

• Kolkata's Opening Pair

On the other hand, even after playing eight matches, Kolkata has not found its best opening pair this season. Although Tim Seifert played three matches, he performed poorly with two consecutive ducks. 

Kolkata might bring in Finn Allen into the playing XI. If Matheesha Pathirana returns, they might also consider sending Sunil Narine back to the top order by changing the batting order.

Team News: Will Pathirana Play?

Hyderabad is unlikely to make any changes to its team.

• Sunrisers Hyderabad (Probable): 1. Travis Head, 2. Abhishek Sharma, 3. Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), 4. Heinrich Klaasen, 5. Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6. Salil Arora, 7. Aniket Verma, 8. Pat Cummins (Captain), 9. Harsha Dubey, 10. Ishant Malinga, 11. Prafull Hinge, 12. Sakib Hussain.

Matheesha Pathirana is fit and ready to play, but Kolkata did not play him against Lucknow. Before Sunday's match, Kolkata's bowling coach Tim Southee had said, 'We will make the decision that is best for the team after looking at the situation.'

• Kolkata Knight Riders (Probable): 1. Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), 2. Tim Seifert (Wicketkeeper), 3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 4. Cameron Green, 5. Rovman Powell, 6. Rinku Singh, 7. Sunil Narine, 8. Anukul Roy, 9. Ramandeep Singh, 10. Varun Chakravarthy, 11. Kartik Tyagi, 12. Vaibhav Arora.

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is batting-friendly. A total of 87 IPL matches have been played at this stadium, out of which 38 matches have been won by the team batting first and 48 matches by the team chasing the target. 

The highest team score here is 286/6, which Hyderabad made against Rajasthan Royals last year.

Weather Conditions

There is no possibility of rain in Hyderabad today. It will be very sunny in the afternoon. The temperature will be between 27 and 42 degrees Celsius.

Statistics and Interesting Information

• Despite a poor start, Vaibhav Arora, along with Kartik Tyagi, is the highest wicket-taker for Kolkata. Arora's record against Hyderabad's top order is also good: he has dismissed Head twice in 4 encounters. He has dismissed Abhishek once in 6 innings, limiting his strike rate to just 78, while dismissing Ishan Kishan 3 times in 5 encounters.
• Which Ishan Kishan will take the field for Hyderabad today? He started the season with 80 runs against Bengaluru. After that, despite scoring some low scores, he scored 91 runs off 44 balls against Rajasthan. He has made three half-centuries so far but has also been out in single digits three times, including two 'golden ducks'.
• Malinga has had an excellent season with the help of yorkers and slower balls. In 9 innings, he has taken 14 wickets at an economy rate of 9.2. Batters have found it very difficult to score off his slower balls, off which he has taken 4 wickets at an economy rate of 7.7.