Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
Time for the two powerhouses of the Indian Premier League to get on a collision course. The Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad clearly haven’t enjoyed a great start to the season. So a win at the hallowed Eden Gardens is crucial for both teams to build momentum for the matches ahead.
The head-to-head record between the two teams is firmly in favour of the Knights. Overall, both have faced off in 28 games where KKR have bagged 18 wins and SRH just nine. One match was tied.
Now let’s zoom into the pitch. Yes, player battles that will affect the outcome of the game.
Heinrich Klaasen vs Sunil Nari
There are few players as destructive as Heinrich Klaasen. The Protea wicket-keeper batter has taken a liking to Indian pitches and doesn’t care whether it’s spin or pace. Even Sunil Narine is yet to find an answer for Klaasen. Whenever the two have faced off, Narine has never dismissed Klaasen. So far, the South African has scored 34 runs in 22 balls against the Windies mystery spinner.
Ajinkya Rahane vs Zeeshan Ansari
One is the KKR captain and the other is a man with one IPL cap. Zeeshan Ansari made quick work of the likes of Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul, both who play spin much better than Ajinkya Rahane. If Rahane does manage to play out the pacers, he will have to play Zeeshan Ansari with extra caution.
Travis Head vs Varun ChakaravarthyHead
KKR’s mystery bowlers are yet to leave an impression this season. But Travis Head will be wary of what Varun Chakaravarthy can do. In the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals, it took Chakaravarthy no more than one ball to dismiss the Aussie left-hander. While Head is remarkable against pace, he does tend to slow down against the spinners. Ajinkya Rahane will have to introduce Chakaravarthy very early on, possibly in the fourth over of the powerplay if he wants to see the back of Travis Head early.
Abhishek Sharma vs Harshit Rana
Out of his 1408 IPL runs, Abhishek Sharma has scored 894 runs only off pacers. He is one of those Indian batters who enjoy pace and the short ball. The shorter the ball, the easier for him. Harshit Rana likes to bang the ball in short and that could be his undoing while bowling at Sharma. With a strike-rate of 148.75 vs pace, Sharma has hit 34 sixes. Eden Gardens isn’t a big ground so more than Harshit Rana, the fans in the stands will have to watch out for some maximums heading their way.
Venaktesh Iyer vs Pat Cummins
KKR’s Venkatesh Iyer was signed for 23.75 crore and is yet to come good. With 903 runs against pace at a strike rate of almost 140, Venky will need to bring his A game forward when he takes on Pat Cummins. Primarily because the Sunrisers captain has a knack for picking up wickets of left-handed batters. With a total of 65 IPL wickets, the Aussie has taken 35 left handers and an out-of-form Venky looks like his next prey.
