What

Match 2 of VIVO IPL 2019 will see the Kolkata Knight Riders play host to the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Both teams were among the top four teams last season; while SRH were table toppers at the end of the league stage, KKR progressed to the playoffs as the team that finished third. However, neither team went on to lay hands on the silverware; KKR lost to SRH in the third playoff match (Qualifier 2), while SRH themselves finished runner-up to Chennai Super Kings.

SRH have retained the bulk of the team that did so well last season. The 2016 champions will be boosted by the return of star-batsman David Warner, who missed all of last season in the aftermath of the Sandpapergate, and by the acquisitions of Jonny Bairstow and Martin Guptill. The franchise announced though that Kane Williamson, who led them to the final last season, would remain captain.

KKR, twice champions, have retained their first-choice XI from last season and have revamped almost their entire bench strength. KKR’s batting reserves may be bleak, but they have several exciting options to choose from in the fast bowling department (Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney and YarraPrithviraj). KKR received a jolt in the days leading up to the season when the exciting South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje had to pull out because of a shoulder injury; young quicks ShivamMavi and Kamlesh Nagarkotitoo failed to recover from their respective injuries and were ruled out. The franchise has signed up Sandeep Warrier (Kerala pacer) and KC Cariappa (Karnataka’s mystery spinner) as replacements.

When

24 March 2019, 4pm IST

Where

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Likely XIs:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, WriddhimanSaha, Kane Williamson, Shakib al Hasan, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

 Protagonists

The return of David Warner is a huge boost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad; not only did the Australian lead the team to its only IPL title so far, but he has also been the team’s top run-getter in each of the four seasons he donned the orange jersey. The 32-year may not have played any international cricket in the last twelve months, but he has been striking the ball well and scoring runs wherever else he has had the opportunity to bat – be it in grade cricket or in T20 competitions around the world.

Dinesh Karthik and Chris Lynn were KKR’s top two run-getters last season, and the team management will expect them to contribute with the bat yet again.

Both teams are packed with quality all-rounders; if KKR have Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite and Sunil Narine (who has been tactically used as opener with good returns), SRH have Shakib al Hasan, Rashid Khan andMohammad Nabi.

Head to Head in Indian Premier League

Matches – 15, KKR Won – 9, SRH Won - 6

Last season, the two teams shared honours in the league stage, winning their respective matches on the road. In the third meeting – in Qualifier 2, with a place in the Final up for grabs, it was Sunrisers Hyderabad who prevailed; SRH scored 174 for 7 and then restricted KKR for 160-9 to win by 14 runs. Rashid Khan was the Sunrisers’ match-winner on the night; apart from blitzing 34 not out off 10 balls, he struck thrice with the ball – dismissing Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Andre Russell, took two catches and assisted in the run out of Nitish Rana.

Trivia

Sunil Narine needs one more wicket to complete 50 wickets in IPL matches at the Eden Gardens.

Since the completion of the last IPL, no one has taken more wickets in T20 cricket than Rashid Khan. The Afghanistan leg-spinner’s performance in T20 matches in this period reads: 47 matches, 81 wickets, 14.08 average, 6.41 economy rate.