Delhi Capitals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 4 at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in match 47 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Against KKR, SRH will look to continue the winning momentum they achieved by defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Currently, SRH are placed in the ninth spot on the points table, with three victories and five losses. Despite their below-par performance, Sunrisers still have a chance to qualify for the Playoffs stage. In the round-robin stage, the Orange Army will have to clinch their remaining games to keep themselves alive in a bid to qualify for the next round. In the crucial match against KKR, they will go ahead with their best XI to emerge victorious.
Here’s Sunrisers Hyderabad’s predicted XI against Kolkata Knight Riders
Openers: Abhishek Sharma and Mayank Agarwal
Abhishek Sharma Batting (Photo Source : BCCI/IPL)
In the previous match, SRH replaced Harry Brook with Abhishek Sharma as an opener, and their move worked as Abhishek smashed 67 off just 36 balls and became the highest run-scorer in the match. The youngster will be expected to continue his form against Knight Riders as well.
Mayank Agarwal’s dry run with the bat continued in the match against Delhi Capitals as well. The right-handed batter has piled up 169 runs in eight matches at an ordinary strike rate of 110.45. So far, Agarwal has failed to play his part in the team, barring a few occasions, but in the remainder of the tournament, he will look to be among the runs.
Middle-Order: Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (captain), Harry Brook, and Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper)
Aiden Markram. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Rahul Tripathi has played only one effective knock for his team in the tournament, and that too, came against Punjab Kings (PBKS) almost a month back. The 32-year-old will strive to showcase his best against the struggling Kolkata side and fetch a win for his team. Along with Tripathi, skipper Aiden Markram will also have to lead the team from the front. The dashing Protea has amassed only 132 runs in seven matches of the competition, at a strike rate of 138.94.
Witnessing his back-to-back failures as an opener, the SRH team management moved Harry Brook to number five in their last match against DC. In the middle order as well, the 24-year-old couldn’t justify his role and went back to the pavilion without scoring any runs. In his first match against KKR, he smashed an impressive ton in his team’s 23-run victory, and in the contest coming ahead, he will back himself to do the same again.
Heinrich Klaasen has looked decent for SRH in the lower middle order. The South Africa wicketkeeper batter has racked up 153 runs in five innings of six matches at an impeccable strike rate of 182.14. In his team’s nine-run win against DC, he chipped in with his rapid 53 off 27. The 31-year-old will now look forward to taking the KKR bowling attack to the cleaners.
All-rounder: Abdul Samad
Abdul Samad. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Abdul Samad hasn’t done anything special for SRH in the tournament so far. The youngster got four games for his team and scored only 90 runs in the lower order, at a strike rate of 120.00. The 21-year-old will have to deliver a solid knock to his side in the upcoming games to become a valuable asset in the squad.
Bowlers: Akeal Hosein, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, and Mayank Markande
Mayank Markande. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Akeal Hosein got his debut IPL match against DC, and in his maiden game, he went expensive but bagged the crucial scalp of Mitchell Marsh. The Caribbean bowler might be seen reinforcing SRH’s spin attack along with Mayank Markande against the Kolkata-based franchise in Hyderabad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has performed brilliantly for SRH in the last few contests. Claiming seven wickets in eight matches at an economy of 7.92, he is the second-leading wicket-taker for his side in the tournament. In his last game, he dismissed the dangerous David Warner and gave a perfect start to his team. Sunrisers will need the veteran’s contribution to dominate KKR in Hyderabad.
Umran Malik hasn’t lived up to the expectations so far in the tournament. Grabbing only five wickets in seven games at an enormous economy of 10.35, he has emerged as a weak spot in SRH’s pace attack. The speedster’s endeavours will be to assist SRH’s bowling spearhead Bhuvneshwar efficiently in the upcoming matches.
In this tournament, Mayank Markande has come out as the most successful bowler for SRH due to his exceptional bowling. Notching up 10 wickets in six games at an amazing economy of 6.41, he has done his job perfectly. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, the leggie will look to bolster SRH’s spin attack along with Akeal Hosein and get the better of KKR batters.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Probable Playing 11:
Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (captain), Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Abdul Samad, Akeal Hosein, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, and Mayank Markande
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Probable Impact Players:
T Natarajan, Adil Rashid, Glenn Phillips, Karthik Tyagi, and Sanvir Singh