IPL 2019: Match 38, SRH vs KKR - Match Preview, Predicted Playing XI and Key Players
The Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at Hyderabad for the first game of the double header on April 21st. Both the teams desperately need a win in this game and this promises to be a juicy fixture.
SRH look upbeat after beating the Chennai Super Kings at home and now they face KKR, who are on a losing streak and need some confidence ahead of this game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Batting
Key Batsmen: Jonny Bairstow, David Warner and Kane Williamson.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad have looked weak with the bat and if we look past their openers, they haven't had a good time with the bat. On a slow track in Hyderabad, the SRH middle order haven't been able to handle spin well and need to come good in this match.
Jonny Bairstow and David Warner will be the key in this fixture and KKR's bowling will be tested by the rampant nature of the SRH openers. Skipper Kane Williamson will also look to score some runs after a poor start to the tournament.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed
SRH's bowling has been good in the last couple of games and Rashid Khan's double strike clearly illustrates his return to form. Their pace bowlers have been very economical with the ball and Khaleel Ahmed especially will be the X-Factor with the ball. They will look to get the KKR openers out early and pile the pressure on their middle order. Rashid will have to nullify the threat of Andre Russell.
Predicted Playing XI
Jonny Bairstow(WK), David Warner, Kane Williamson(C), Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shahbaz Nadeem and Sandeep Sharma
Kolkata Knight Riders
Batting
Key Batsmen: Chris Lynn, Nitish Rana and Andre Russell
KKR's batting was put to the test in the game vs RCB and apart from Nitish Rana and Andre Russell, none of the other batsmen were able to soak in the pressure and Robin Uthappa's slow innings was the reason the side lost the match. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine will hope to get the needed start against the SRH quicks and let their middle order do their job.
Shubman Gill, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik have to step up and deliver the goods for the side.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Harry Gurney
The KKR bowlers haven't been up to the task, especially during the death overs. The KKR spinners haven't had a great outing in the last few fixtures and apart from Sunil Narine, all the spinners have gone the distance. Kuldeep Yadav, especially needs to come good after he was shattered by a Moeen Ali blitzkrieg.
Harry Gurney needs to spearhead the pace bowling department and bowling with control during the death overs.
Predicted Playing XI
Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(C and WK), Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Harry Gurney and Prasidh Krishna.
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