In the third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata tonight, i.e., Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 PM IST.
The emotions are different, and the feelings are positive for KKR supporters as their prodigal son, Gautam Gambhir, returns to the team, this time as a mentor. Along with him, skipper Shreyas Iyer returns after missing the previous season owing to injury. Iyer’s return means that KKR will have a reliable Indian middle order, which also features Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh. Phil Salt’s inclusion as Jason Roy‘s replacement is also a strong move, as the Knights will have another keeper-batter option at the start of the inning. As we’ve seen in the past, Gambhir will want a slowish and spin-friendly wicket at the Eden, which will increase the effectiveness of players like Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, and Varun Chakaravarthy. Given the lack of good choices among Indian pacers, it will be also intriguing to learn how Mitchell Starc is being utilised throughout the 20 overs. KKR’s trump card, Andre Russell also looked high and active during the team’s practice matches and if fans get to see any of Russell-Muscle during this season, the home team can go quite far into this season.
On the other hand, SRH have made quite a few changes to their side this season. After ending up last in the previous season, the Hyderabad-based side has made 20-crore bowling allrounder Pat Cummins its new skipper. The side looks solid on paper, with the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma at the start while former captain Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klassen at three and four. The return of Washington Sundar will also be a huge boost. Whilst the Sunrisers have traditionally been a bowling team, Cummins and Marco Jansen together make the team exceptionally potent this time around. Furthermore, given Kolkata’s bowling attack, players like Jaydev Unadkat and Bhuvneshwar Kumar could prove to be more useful to the group.
Head-to-Head:
In a head-to-head fight, the two-time IPL champions won 16 of 25 games, while SRH won nine. Furthermore, KKR won their previous encounter, which took place last season, by five runs.
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