IPL 2018:The Qualifier 2 will see KKR lock horns with SRH to face CSK in the finals
IPL 2018: The Sunrisers Hyderabad after becoming the first team to qualify for the IPL 11 playoffs have suddenly lost the plot entirely and having lost 4 matches on the bounce, they now for the first time this season find themselves in a must-win situation as they go head to head against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 today.
FollowSunrisers Hyderabad will battle it out with Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 in IPL 2018 at Eden Gardens on Friday for a title clash with Chennai Super Kings. SRH had lost Qualifier 1 against CSK and will get another chance to qualify for the final. KKR is coming off a good win against Rajasthan Royals in Eliminator, and they look to be the favourites for a final berth.
Kolkata Knight Riders:
They are coming into this match after a thumping victory over Rajasthan Royals and will be high on confidence. The pros from the game were the knock from captain Dinesh Karthik and all-rounder Andre Russell who came good with the bat whereas, the cons reflected mainly in the way Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine performed. They would like to bank upon the starts they get from their openers which have always been an improvised factor in their batting strength throughout the tournament.
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
They did finish on the top of the aisle in the league stages but lately, they are not performing collectively which has given headaches to the captain and the team management. For a side who finished top on the league table, it’s a bit uncharacteristic to lose four games on the trot. This is the final chance for SRH to enter the finals and meet a team who has defeated them three times this year, Captain Kane Williamson has all sorts of troubles right now, and he has to figure out a way to win the game.
Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing 11
Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Khartik, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Piyush Chawla, Javon Searles, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna
Sunrisers Hyderabad Predicted Playing 11
Shikhar Dhawan, Shreevats Goswami, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Shakib-al-Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Carlos Braithwaite, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul
KKR vs SRH Head to Head
Both sides have won one apiece in head-to-head fixtures this season. It was Sunrisers Hyderabad who won when they last met at Eden Gardens but it was Kolkata Knight Riders who claimed victory most recently - in the final round of league fixtures. It was the Knight Riders' ninth win in 14 previous matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In play-off matches, meanwhile, they faced each other in each of the last two years at this stage with both teams winning once. In their most recent fixture, Prasidh Krishna took 4/30, and Chris Lynn led the chase with a half-century as Kolkata chased down 172/9 to win with two balls to spare by five wickets.
Match prediction
Both teams have defeated each other once in the group stages and will be itching to stand up and deliver on the big stage. KKR do hold the edge over SRH’s batting, but SRH has been the best bowling side of the tournament. Hence, it promises to be a mouth-watering clash as both teams led by calm captains go head to head in the second Qualifier.
Playing at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, KKR will have the home support. The Dinesh Karthik-led side also has momentum on their side and have a slight edge over the ‘Men in Orange’ and should they win this key clash they will go onto face CSK in their third IPL final.
