Photo-finish on cards as KKR-SRH get ready for battle

When Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lock horns we can expect sparks to fly and the crowd erupt seeing a cliffhanger of a tie.

The eight-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians in their previous game has pushed KKR down to the bottom of the table and worsened their NRR to -1.428.

SRH are marginally better off with an NRR of    -0.871 and sitting two positions above the Knights.

Various match prediction sites have also put the visitors marginally ahead in the won probability quotient handing them 56 per cent chance. 

When the duo will face-off in the 15th match of IPL 2025 this Thursday at Eden Gardens, SRH, last season’s finalists, who have had a rough start to their campaign will be looking to regain their Midas touch, while KKR will look to put the ignominy on the shores of Arabian Sea and the pitch controversy well behind them and show why Eden Gardens is their fortress.

Both having lost two of their opening three matches will not like to lose any further momentum.

KKR have blown hot and cold this season with their rather oops-a-daisy middle-order faltering and floundering repeatedly.

They have crumbled like cookies before any sort of intelligent bowling attack and have not shown any imagination while counter-attacking. Such heavy defeats are bound to leave the team rattled, and bouncing back won’t be easy.

Their biggest concern is their shaky batting lineup. The entire top and middle order have flattered to deceive except perhaps the young and matured Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

Team Mentor DJ Bravo however has other ideas, “Team’s morale is high even after two losses. These are early days in IPL. You cannot judge potential match winners after just a couple of failures These are very talented players and they have won matches single handedly. We expect them to come good. We just need to remind them of their calibre.”

Asked about the explosive batting of SRH, he added, “It’s a challenge for our bowlers. If we get a couple of early wickets, it will open up things for us. We have both attacking and defensive plans in place. We will adopt things according to the tempo of the game.”

They could either go with the same starting XI or drop underperforming names and give some others warming the bench a chance or even call Manish Pandey, who looked to be in fine nick, up into playing XI along with Moen Ali.

In the pace attack, Spencer Johnson, Vaibhav Arora, and Harshit Rana may not be the biggest names in IPL, but they’ve stepped up when needed and have made their presence felt.

They will need to come good tomorrow. Finally, Sunil Narine needs to relive his stellar record at the Eden Gardens in this crunch time, as do Varun Chakravarthy.

After two back-to-back failures, SRH will be hoping that Travis Head, Heinrich Klassen, Ishan Kisan, and Abhishek Sharma fire on all cylinders at the majestic Eden. Sunrisers made a fiery start to their season, bulldozing through their opponents with some fearless batting.

They have progressively dipped from their high of 286, with their aggressive intent causing their doom. SRH looked like a double-edged sword that cut both ways.