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On the rise after a phenomenal knockout of Rinku Singh Kolkata, the Night Raiders will be aiming for the winning hat-trick when they face a resurgent Sunriseers Hyderabad on Friday in the Indian Premier League at Eden Gardens. After kicking off their campaign with a loss against the Punjab Kings in Mohali, KKR found two surprise heroes in two matches to jump-start their campaign. First, it was Shardul Thakur’s batting storm that caught star club Royal Challengers Bangalore by surprise as the 29-ball bowler’s 68 speed led KKR to their first win of the season, a dominant 81-run win.
The low-profile Rinku then became the highlight of the season after pulling off the greatest heist in T20 history, scoring 31 runs in the last over to win the match.
KKR defeated the defending champions Gujarat Titans by three wickets in their lair, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, thanks to Rinku’s amazing power shot.
The two-time former champions, who were hit hard by the absence of their skipper Shreyas Ayer and star all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hassan and were written off by many after a modest auction, have suddenly become the team to win this season.
That two victories came without any significant input from their star striker Andre Russell and skipper Nitish Rana makes them an even more dangerous side.
While Shardul and Rinku were no doubt given finish options, think tank KKR will be keen to prove that these two victories were no fluke.
By his standards, Russell, a formidable Jamaican power forward, looked like a shadow of his past, save for a 19-point 35 in their first-season loss to the Punjab Kings.
With the score at 0 and 1 for the next two matches, Russell will be looking to prove his qualifications as he sweated in practice before Friday’s match.
KKR have tried different starting combinations in three matches and it is likely that they will be changed again against SRH and instead of Rahmanullah Gurbaza it is likely that England first team member Jason Roy will be included.
The Afghan player impressed with a fifty against the RCB, but with Roy replacing Shakib, the Englishman is likely to be included and Narayan Jagadesan could put on gloves to protect the wicket.
As for SRH, the Aiden Markram-led side looks strong on paper after several big buys like Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal and Heinrich Klaasen at auction.
However, SRH, crowded with white ball specialists, failed to impress in their first two matches. However, Rahul Tripathi’s special match of 48 goals unbeaten 74 led them to their first win of the season when they defeated the Punjab Kings by eight wickets.
Emboldened by the win, Brian Lara’s team will be looking to maintain their winning momentum and give KKR a strong fight at home.
Tripathi will take on his former team as a pitcher in the middle of the over. Tripathi is someone who can alternate shots in the middle of an over and throw counters thanks to his ability to fight spin.
SRH hopes that players like Brook and Klaasen will quit and earn a bigger sum.
The famous Brook, who was signed for Rs 13.25 crore, has so far scored 13, 3 and 13 points.
A member of the England side that won the T20 World Cup last year, Brook looked out of his element as a rookie and it would be nice to have him downgraded.
They also have a powerful spinning attack in Washington Sundar and Mayank Markand just past 4/15 against the Punjab Kings while a tempo attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen will give KKR a tough fight.
A win for KKR, currently in third place, could take them to the top of the table.
Ingredients:
Kolkata Knight Raiders: Nitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Locky Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southey, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarty, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadisan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Hejroliya, Lytton Das, Mandeep Singh and Jason Roy.
Sunrise Hyderabad:Aiden Markram (c), Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Fazalhak Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Umran Malik, Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Heinrich Klaasen, Adil Rashid, Mayank Markande, Vivrant Sharma, Samart Vyas, Sanveer Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Dagar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akeal Hossein and Anmolprit Singh.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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