SRH vs KKR Preview: The Sportsrush presents before you full preview of the 38th match of IPL 2019 between SRH and KKR.
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The Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Kolkata Knight Riders will take each other on in a bid to get an important win under their belt. Both the teams had started the tournament on a high and went down pretty fast.
While SRH would be positive after a great win against CSK, KKR needs to regroup fast and make some crucial decisions if they want to stay relevant in this IPL. A Russell blitz had helped KKR defeat SRH in their opening encounter of IPL 2019.
FORM GUIDE
The Sunrisers, after 3 losses on the trot, managed to comprehensively beat the table-toppers, Chennai Super Kings. They would take a lot of heart from the fact that their openers and their bowlers are consistently delivering for them. The middle order crisis, though, has pulled them down on a few occasions and they need to settle that somehow.
The Knight Riders are coming on the back of 4 losses on the bounce. They managed to lose to CSK twice, DC once and most recently, to RCB. They need to make some tough calls and bench some non-performing players to get back to winning ways.
KKR need to take the positives like the form of Nitish Rana and Andre Russell and start believing again. They do need to play out of their skin to defeat SRH at Hyderabad.
TEAM CHANGES
After an emphatic victory, SRH would be looking to maintain some stability in the squad. The bowlers and openers are doing brilliantly and there is no question of changing anything there. The middle order could be reshuffled a bit but it seems unlikely as Williamson would look to back the boys who won them the game last time. Sunrisers should go in with an unchanged team.
KKR have been spiralling and need to make some changes quickly. The No. 4 slot is crucial and it seems Robin Uthappa is not in any kind of form currently. Scoring 9 runs off 20 balls on a batting paradise like the Eden Gardens is simply not acceptable. It did cost KKR the match.
Bringing in the dashing Rinku Singh in his place, who can hit the ball long and far and has also had a fantastic domestic season, might solve the conundrum. Rana could bat at 4 and Rinku can play the role of a finisher.
Kuldeep Yadav’s spot has also been debated after his awful performances off late but on a slow pitch like Hyderabad, Kuldeep might finally arrive in IPL 2019. He should be persisted with.
PITCH AND WEATHER PREDICTION
After the first 2 matches here, the Hyderabad pitch has slowed down beyond imagination. In the last 3 matches, the average score on this track has been a mere 129 runs with the highest being 155. The bowlers, especially the spinners, are expected to have a field day. Both the teams have a strong spin attack and it would be exciting to see another low-scoring thriller on Sunday afternoon.
The weather is expected to be mostly sunny. Although temperatures will soar and touch 38* C, humidity will be relatively low at 44%. The sun will be beating down on this afternoon match draining out the fielders in the process.
TOSS PREDICTION
Considering the past records on this ground this season wherein even a score like 136 has been defended and also the heat during the first innings, we can expect the team winning the toss to bat first and set a decent score.
