In the 25th match, of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai. While SRH will be coming into the game after back-to-back wins, KKR has three wins and two defeats from five games. For Sunrisers, it has been a superb return to form after having lost the first two games of the season.
It felt as if they were going the 2021 way, but Kane Williamson has managed to inspire the team with two superb wins in the last two matches. The bowling has been good so far for SRH with Umran’s pace, Bhuvnshwar Kumar’s swing, T Natarajan’s accuracy, and the top 4 in the batting department have contributed valuable runs. With the team-high on confidence, they would only be looking to maintain the momentum, and make it a hat-trick of wins.
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For Kolkata Knight Riders, it has been a bumpy ride so far. They started with a win, then lost their match. Then had two back-to-back wins, and then again lost one. They haven’t looked settled in terms of Team combination as compared to SRH, who have made very few changes in all 4 matches so far. With the hope for a win, there could be a few changes in the squad for KKR. On that note, We take a look at the three player battles to watch out for when both sides meet for the first time in IPL 2022.
#1 Kane Williamson vs Pat Cummins
Kane Williamson will be facing his previous foe who’s troubled him quite a bit in the past. Australian quick Pat Cummins has never dismissed the veteran batter in their previous encounters. Williamson’s last game for KKR wasn’t run-filled as he scored just 26 but his last innings against GT will give him the much-needed confidence to have a go against the KKR bowling unit tonight. This will be a classic contest of pace vs power.
#2 Nicholas Pooran vs Sunil Narine
It’s mystery vs magic when Sunil Narine loads up to bowl against Nicholas Pooran. He has dismissed the wicket-keeper once in the last 3 innings. Unleashing Narine in the powerplay might not be a bad idea considering he has dismissed Pooran in the IPL. Pooran is yet to notch up a fifty in the 2022 edition, and this might be the game where he hits his straps.
#3 T Natarajan vs Shreyas Iyer
T Natarajan may have been expensive for SRH in the last game against GT, but he took a a couple of wickets as well. With Kolkata’s openers in a bit of a slump, he will be eager to prize out the top two and get the better of their skipper Shreyas Iyer. Iyer has managed to get off to starts but is yet to play the defining innings that are expected of him. How he fares against a fiery Natarajan remains to be seen.
