Despite the defeat against Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders got a lifeline in their Playoffs quest when Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians on Saturday, 2 October. They stayed in the top four with 10 points, holding advantage over Mumbai due to their superior net run rate. Under these circumstances, they will take on this season's bottom-ranked team Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday in Dubai.
Eoin Morgan's form has been a huge concern for KKR in this UAE leg of the IPL, though coach Brendon McCullum and the team management have shown faith in him. However, Shakib Al Hasan's omission from the XI, especially in Andre Russell's absence, has raised some eyebrows. Against Punjab, they played with four specialist bowlers and picked Tim Seifert ahead of Shakib. Here, however, they need to rethink their strategy as they await the fitness clearance of Russell and Lockie Ferguson.
For Sunrisers, things have gone bad to worse. They have just won two matches this season. Apart from occasional sparks of Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha, Jason Holder and Rashid Khan, nothing seems to have gone the way of Kane Williamson's team. They will aim to up their game in these last few contests and spoil the party for a team like KKR.
Likely XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma
Betway Fantasy tips
- Back the KKR spin duo Chakravarthy and Narine to continue their good form. In UAE so far, they have 13 wickets in five matches and have gone for under six an over thrice. So, you should have both of them in your fantasy team.
- Saha has been in a decent form of late and he strikes at over 140 against KKR. He should be your first-choice wicketkeeper.
- KKR all-rounder Iyer, in terrific form in the UAE leg, will once again be ideal choice as captain.
Prediction
KKR are favourites to topple SRH in this contest
Blitzpools Fantasy XI
Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer (c), Sunil Narine, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy