The Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad, as both the sides aim for their first win in IPL 2020. While the KKR conceded a defeat to the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of their campaign, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad faced a monumental collapse in their first match of the season to Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Much was expected from a revamped Kolkata Knight Riders set-up but it seemed Karthik did not learn from his past mistakes and made some inexplicable decisions that led to their complete capitulation against Mumbai Indians. Once again, the batting position of their biggest hitter Andre Russell became the talking point in their 49-run loss to Mumbai Indians.
Known to put up a balanced side on the park, the SRH lacked strength and experience in their middle-order, failing miserably against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Needing just 43 runs from last five overs, SRH lost their last seven wickets for 32 runs to lose the game by 10 runs.
If that was not enough, injury to their all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has compounded their misery. Holder has arrived in UAE as Marsh's replacement but will remain unavailable for their game against KKR.
Head to Head..
Both the sides have met on 17 occasions in the Indian Premier League so far and KKR leads with 10 wins to SRH's seven. In the past five meetings between the two sides, however, Sunrisers have won three.
Key Stats..
- David Warner is the highest scorer in the matches between both the sides. He has scored 533 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders. With the added responsibility as captain of the side, Warner will be aiming to make a mark in the game tonight.
- Four of the top-five individual scores in an innings between the two sides are scored by Sunrisers Hyderabad openers, Warner and Jonny Bairstow. The English wicketkeeper-batsman may have learnt a lesson or two after throwing his wicket away in the match against RCB, and will aim to make the most of his time in the crease against KKR.
- With the strike rate of 164.52 against SRH, Andre Russell continues to be the main man for Kolkata Knight Riders. His position in the batting order remains a point of dispute, however and KKR needs to address the issue as early as possible.
- Sunil Narine, with the economy rate of 6.60 against the SRH, will hold the key for KKR with the ball. Narine was the only bowler with the economy rate of below 6 in the previous match and will aim to continue on the same form.
