They have a duty to bat against the equally struggling Kolkata Knights in Hyderabad today
Published Date – Thu, 04 May 23 at 08:40 AM
Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to give it their all when they take on the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. Photo: PTI
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Sunrises, who are ninth in the standings with just six points from eight games, host the also struggling Kolkata Knights at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, They hope to ignite playoff hopes.
The Sunrisers snapped their three-match losing streak with a nine-match win over bottom-placed Delhi Capitals in their last match and are looking to extend their win over the Nitish Rana-led side. The hosts’ batting has been hot and cold, and in their last game against the Capitals, they were pretty good. Opening, left-hander Abhishek Sharma (67 for 39) hit a smooth half-century, while Henriech Klaasen powered the innings with 53 for 27 balls.
Abhishek’s success as an opener will force management to stick with the same combination, but his partner Mayank Agarwal has yet to live up to his potential. Concerns remain over the top order not getting into top form. Rahul Tripathi, captain Aiden Markram haven’t really progressed and Harry Brook, after a century against the same rivals KKR, Also failed miserably. However, confronting them again might motivate him to come to the party.
With the ball, SRH did well. Veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been delivering key breakthroughs with the new ball, while Natarajan looked like he was back to his best form from the previous game, finding his toe to crush the Yorkers. Leg-spinner Mayank Markande has been their main wicket-taker. However, the poor performance of speed merchant Umran Malik was a headache. He’s been leaking a lot, and that’s something management needs to address quickly.
Tourists are also on a similar boat. Kolkata are just one rung above SRH with six points from nine games. The two-time champion, who lost Shreyas Iyer to injury, also failed to pull together in all divisions. However, their batting looks better on paper compared to Hyderabad.
The addition of Jason Roy provided a new dimension, while Afghanistan goalkeeper Rahmanuara Gulbaaz showed what he’s capable of in their last game against the Gujarat Titans. However, they had to deal with restrictions on foreign aid on the wing, forcing them to leave one of their players out.
With a line-up of Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, it is more than capable of tearing down any opponent’s bowling. West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell has been having a tough time and should have a big one. If he gets into his zone, nowhere is it big enough for the Caribbean superstar.
Cavaliers Bowling also looked shaky. While the pace department lacks visibility, most of the work is left to their spinners. Sunil Narine was struggling to find his mojo, while fellow spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma were doing well.
The stakes are high in this game, with both teams eager to grab the crucial two points. The hosts will look to double down on KKR, while the visitors will be hoping to revive their campaign with a win.
