Two sides whose Indian Premier League campaigns are hanging by a thread meet in the one match in the competition on Saturday when the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
These two sides need to win out from here and then hope that results go their way in order to make it through to the postseason. The likelihood is that they are playing for winning momentum to take into next season though.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders have not had the campaign they would have wanted and with an overhaul of both playing and coaching personnel on the horizon you wonder exactly what they have to use as motivation here. Brendon McCullum will leave at the end of the season so a new coach will be required and you would imagine they will go in search of a new captain as well. When you consider that the Indian leg of last season was nowhere near good enough and this one hasn’t been much better than big decisions look like they will need to be made soon.
The Knight Riders just haven’t batted well all season. There have been times where someone has gone off, usually Andre Russell, but at no stage have you thought they have had a balanced batting unit despite having some of the most talented players in India in their ranks. They look unsure of whether to go hard or lay a foundation for the likes of Narine and Russell and in the end have done neither. Those two players might be dangerous with the pressure off which is at least one positive.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
There was a stage at the halfway mark where the Sunrisers Hyderabad threatened to defy expectations and push for a place at the end of season finals but four defeats on the trot have all but ended those hopes. They can still qualify with three wins from their final three matches but you have to think that with a negative run rate even that isn’t going to be enough. The first thing they need to do is turn their form around with a win here.
Sunrisers haven’t been helped by injuries but all teams can testify to that. They have a couple of issues which urgently need addressing regardless of injuries. Kane Williamson is a brilliant and inspirational leader of men but his form in the powerplay is having a negative impact on the team while Umran Malik is an exciting prospect but he has haemorrhaged runs in the last few matches which is counterproductive.
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Key Players
This Sunrisers attack is going around the park at the minute so this is a chance for Venkatesh Iyer to show he still has what it takes to deliver the goods at the top of the order. Kolkata are crying out for a home man to get them going to allow them to use their overseas finishers and bowlers. Iyer could be the man.
Aiden Markram has had a decent competition with the bat and at times with the ball for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. It has to be part of the thought process for him and Kane Williamson to swap places in the batting order but wherever Markram bats he’ll need to go big.
Betting
I can’t say I’m a massive fan of the Kolkata Knight Riders but this does look like a good time for them to get back to winning ways. The pitch here in Pune has been getting a little tricky to bat on in recent times and that means the likes of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy could be very tricky to face while the subtle variations of the likes of Tim Southee and Andre Russell could be tough to get away as well, making Kolkata hard to beat.
Admittedly they will need someone to lead the way with the bat and bat responsibly but that role might be suited to Ajinkya Rahane or Shreyas Iyer a lot more than the crash bang wallop ones. If this happens to be a good pitch then Kolkata have the firepower to take advantage of it. Sunrisers are hoping to have a couple of key bowlers back for this match but they might need a game to shake off some rust and even then they don’t bat deep enough and aren’t utilising the powerplay at all. I just think Kolkata have more bases covered here and with little pressure on them now they can pick up a win.
Tips
Back Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
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