The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who are on the back of a two-match winning streak, will be locking horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a vital IPL 2023 game at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday, April 14. The Nitish Rana-led side etched a last-gasp win in their last outing against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT). Despite two back-to-back victories, the two-time champions are yet to compile a complete team performance.
KKR have had to rely on Shardul Thakur and Rinku Singh’s heroics for their points so far and will hope that some members of their unit like Andre Russell step up to the task. Meanwhile, SRH got back to winning ways with their win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) after two successive defeats.
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The Aiden Markram-led side was particularly exceptional with the ball in their lone win so far, but they are still lagging well behind in the batting department with the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Harry Brook not hitting top form yet. On that note, Let’s take on three-player battles to watch out for in KKR vs SRH in the upcoming clash in IPL 2023.
#1 Rahul Tripathi vs Sunil Narine
Rahul Tripathi scored a well-composed fifty to guide SRH to a win over PBKS in Hyderabad. He will be SRH’s trump card against Sunil Narine. While facing the mystery spinner previously in the nets must have had its perks, the truth is that Tripathi has always had the upper hand over Narine over the years. He is among the few batters to have completely dominated the Caribbean spinner after having scored 71 runs in 48 deliveries across eight innings at a strike rate of 149.
Additionally, Tripathi has never been dismissed by Narine. Whether it be the powerplay or the middle overs. it is almost inevitable that the pair will come across each other and the result of this particular matchup might dictate some of the early momenta.
#2 Aiden Markram vs Varun Chakravarthy
The SRH skipper started his IPL 2023 campaign with a duck. As Aiden Markram plays in the middle order, he will need to counter KKR’s spin trio. Varun Chakravarthy did not have the best of outings for KKR against GT away from home, but he is expected to be a force to be reckoned with on home soil. The battle for supremacy between the in-form Aiden Markram and Chakravarthy in the middle overs will be a treat to watch.
Markram has come across the KKR mystery spinner across three innings, scoring 40 runs off 20 balls at a strike rate of 200, without losing his wicket. The Proteas ace has also struck four sixes against Chakravarthy in his T20 career.
#3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar
This is as interesting as matchups get because of the importance as well as previous history. The Afghanistan opener has faced just one delivery of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in his career, which came during the 2022 Asia Cup, and he was clean bowled off it. Gurbaz would be keen to continue his aggressive approach at the top for KKR but will be wary of Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the new ball. Moreover, the right-arm fast bowler has a dominant record at Eden Gardens.
He has scalped 12 wickets in eight IPL matches at the iconic venue at an economy of 7.98. The early matchup could dictate the tone for either of the teams depending on how it turns out. Gurbaz is unlikely to weather the storm or just consider just playing out the Indian fast bowler, especially in the precious powerplay overs. If his approach is any indication, he will look to face Bhuvneshwar with his best foot forward, leading it to a must-watch player battle between SRH and KKR.
