Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we are near the climax of this year’s edition of IPL. Finally, we will get our top four teams for the playoff (of which we already have two teams sorted), and the battle for those positions has become fiercer than ever. In today’s first match, we have Royal Challengers Bangalore taking on Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the table bottom Sunrisers Hyderabad. So, let’s look at what do we have for this Sunday’s second fixture.
Head-to-head
These two teams have faced each other 20 times, of which Kolkata has won 13 games, a substantial lead over Hyderabad (won 7 out of 20). Their first match of this season was in favour of KKR, where they registered a win by ten runs. While SRH is officially out of the playoff race, Kolkata will be looking forward to making their case more potent for the 4th position through this game.
Players to look forward to
Venkatesh Iyer
This new gun has caught the attention of everyone within a short time due to his exploits in the recent games. However, it looks like this all-rounder has more tricks to showcase, and in the coming games, we might witness that.
Jason Roy
A shocking name like Jason Roy went unsold at this year’s auction, and his timely addition to SRH adds more to that feeling. Jason started his IPL career with a well-notched half-century.
Varun Chakravarty
This right arm off breaker continues to justify his place in the Indian world cup squad and how. We have seen in providing significant breakthroughs in literally every match for KKR, and he might be their key for qualifiers.
Jason Holder
Even though SRH are out of the playoff race now, one thing which has been positive throughout the season has been Jason Holder (of course, apart from Rashid Khan). His performance in the season puts more questions on the West Indies Selection board, who have omitted him from their World Cup squad.
What can we expect?
Again, a do or die match for KKR will look forward to making them count. The players are finally coming together for them, and Eoin Morgan, too, must be grilling hard in the nets to contribute through the bat.
A ‘nothing to lose’ match for SRH will focus on enjoying the game and spoiling their opponents’ party. We might see more changes in the Hyderabad squad as their management cleared that they are aiming for the next season.