The Indian T20 League is into its business end and every game is an important one especially for the teams who are not in the top 4 and 2 teams who are below that position will be battling it out. Game number 60 sees a clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
KKR slipped in the middle of the tournament after a strong start, and their campaign appeared to be in serious peril. However, they finally got their combination right in the last game, and until Umesh Yadav returns, they are likely to keep this playing XI for the final two games. Pat Cummins, their fast bowler, has been ruled out and has returned home.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, have lost their last four games and are desperate for a win in this match. T Natarajan and Washington Sundar’s injuries haven’t helped their cause, and they’ll be hoping to get back on track quickly as the playoffs approach. SRH is in sixth place in the points table with five wins in 11 games, and they will need to increase their net run rate as well.
KKR vs SRH – Match Details
Match #60
Venue: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Date & Time: 14th May at 7:30 PM IST and Local Time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report
The pacers have benefited greatly from the surface, and most teams batting first have won at this venue. There will be no dew, so both teams will try to score runs and then defend them.
The penultimate game at the MCA Stadium in Pune was a low-scoring match between the Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Super Giants, and the bowlers had plenty of help from the wicket. Any total above 150 will be difficult to chase down, but the skipper who wins the toss is likely to continue bowling first.
Top Performers
Kolkata Knight Riders
Andre Russell has 14 wickets and a strike rate of 183. He has also made 281 runs with the bat at a strike rate of 183. He has been definitely KKR’s one of the top performers.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Umran Malik has been fantastic with the bowling, taking 15 wickets at an average of 24.27 in 11 outings, and he played well against this same opposition a few weeks ago.
Predicted XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sam Billings (wk), Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (c), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shashank Singh, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik.
