Like last year, Kolkata Knight Riders is again at the nervous threshold. Anxiety has gripped the Knight Riders camp due to its recent losses and the team is now at its home base, the Eden Gardens, with the onerous task of facing a formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in a must-win match on Sunday.
The two-time champion was stuck at 15 points and missed the playoffs by a whisker in the previous edition. Now at 14 points, it runs the risk of being edged out in the last match in front of its own supporters. Knight Riders was helpless against Royal Challengers Bangalore because of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers' firepower here last week but it had to blame itself for the poor batting display against Gujarat Lions in Kanpur on Thursday.
Knight Riders has never batted so badly this season so far and would be keen to get back to the usual ways where the openers, captain Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, gave the side a great start and the following batsmen, including Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan and Suryakumar Yadav, took it forward to post a fighting total.
Injury worries
The other issue for Knight Riders is injury to allrounder Andre Russell and paceman Umesh Yadav. Russell, nursing a leg injury, looked doubtful for the most crucial match. Uncertainty loomed over Umesh’s fitness too. Knight Riders, which has great faith in its varied spin attack, will hope to get a spinner-friendly track so that it can field a potent combination out of Piyush Chawla, Shakib, Sunil Narine and Brad Hogg.
Incessant rain over the last few days has posed a threat. Despite a favourable weather forecast, Knight Riders, apart from regrouping quickly, will pray to keep the rain god away from the city for a day.
Comfortably placed after almost securing a place in the playoffs, Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim at firming up its place and claiming a slot in the top two. The way Sunrisers gave a tough fight to Delhi Daredevils the other night in a last-ball defeat should be a cause of worry for Knight Riders.
Sunrisers has primarily been dependent on its openers, run machine David Warner and his able partner Shikhar Dhawan, while several competent batsmen like Yuvraj Singh, Eoin Morgan and Moises Henriques have complemented with handy contributions.
The consistent Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the clever Mustafizur Rahman have shared most of the workload in bowling and have been supported by fellow-pacers Barinder Sran and Henriques. Enjoying less pressure, Sunrisers will use its resources to achieve its objective. A desperate Knight Riders will need to lift its performance to avoid another heartbreaking exit.
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