IPL 2017: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 5 factors of winning
The Eden Gardens is all set to host its second match of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League with the hosts, Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the reigning champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The top two sides of the tournament have registered two wins in their three matches so far and would look to build on the early momentum going into the latter half of the competition. Both the teams have been defeated by the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium and would try to rectify their mistakes to get their campaign back on track.
While the Knight Riders thumped Kings XI at home by eight wickets with a dominant batting performance, the Sunrisers lost to the Mumbai Indians by four wickets courtesy a poor batting display by them. The two heavyweights will lock horns in the first match of the doubleheader on Saturday which is touted to be an exciting affair.
Here’s a look at the five factors of winning for both the sides:
#1 With the bat
The Kolkata Knight Riders would be hoping for their skipper Gautam Gambhir to carry on the good form and give the team a solid start at the top. An injury to Chris Lynn prompted the Knight Riders to use the services of Sunil Narine at the top of the order. The move turned out to be the turning point of the match as the West Indian smacked 37 off 18 balls to give his team much-needed impetus at the start of the innings.
With the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Surya Kumar Yadav, the batting unit looks formidable to set up a huge score or chase down any total. The management would be banking on their explosive batsman Yusuf Pathan to get back into his groove and start scoring heavily lower down the order and finish games for the Knight Riders.
The defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad had a rather sluggish batting performance in their last match against the Mumbai Indians and would rely heavily on captain David Warner to make use of the field restrictions and get them to a flying start. The southpaw has been one of the mainstays in the batting unit of the Sunrisers and his performance at the top would be crucial for the team’s fortune.
Another player who has been riding on a high ever since his comeback to the Indian team is Yuvraj Singh. The 35-year-old batsman started off the tournament in a commanding fashion with a match-winning 62 in the opening match of the tenth edition against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. With loads of international experience under his belt, the team would be relying on him to consolidate the batting in the middle overs and start expressing himself in the final overs.