IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Tips & Preview - Sunrisers Seek Revival Against The Mercurial Knight Riders

By Nikhil Kalro

20 Mar 2024

Nikhil Kalro 20 Mar 2024

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KKR and SRH commence their IPL 2024 journey against each other with high expectations.
Epic showdown expected between Starc and Cummins - two of the most expensive buys at the IPL 2024 Auction.
Shreyas Iyer returns to the season after missing out the previous year.

Kolkata Knight Riders' Rahmanullah Gurbaz tries to dismiss Sunrisers Hyderabad's Marco Jansen during their IPL 2023 match. (Getty Images)

Sunrisers Hyderabad finished with a wooden spoon in IPL 2023, while Kolkata Knight Riders missed out on playoffs and finished seventh.

Battle At The Top, Battle With The New Ball
IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Tips and Predictions

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will start their new Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign at home against the bottom-dwellers of last season, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The encounter will take place at Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 23, and it promises to be a thriller as Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will go head-to-head in this fixture.

Starc and Cummins are World Cup winners and two of the most expensive buys at the IPL 2024 Auction. The Knight Riders will expect from Starc exactly what the Sunrisers will expect from Cummins—stellar performances that can guide their team to success. However, both sides need massive improvements because they failed to reach the playoffs last year.

The hosts will be glad to have Shreyas Iyer back. After missing the previous season, he will take over captaincy from Nitish Rana. The visitors have dropped Aiden Markram and named Cummins in his stead. It is, therefore, a contest between two sides that have made significant rejigs to aim for the top four.

Battle At The Top, Battle With The New Ball

KKR were poor in the power play last year. Their economy of 9.79 in this phase was by far the worst among all teams. SRH at 9.29 were the second most expensive. This is perhaps why KKR went big for Starc and Sunrisers for Cummins, who also have Bhuvneshwar Kumar for company with the new ball. This match is a battle of two new-ball attacks.

Powerplay wasn’t the only area of concern. KKR used eight different opening combinations last year; Sunrisers seven. Jason Roy has pulled out of the season, so it remains to be seen who does the job for KKR. They have to choose between Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer and Phil Salt. It’s likely Salt will have to sit out to balance out the overseas combination better.

No pair opened more than four innings together for the Sunrisers, too. The signing of Travis Head is one of the steps they’ve taken to address that. Mayank Agarwal, who he is likely to open with, has been in decent form, having top-scored for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy. So, the side that addresses either or both of these concerns will go a long way in terms of lining up for the playoffs.

IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Tips and Predictions

Spin is king at Eden, and KKR have a plethora of options at their disposal. Their spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma, and Sunil Narine picked up a bulk of the 47 wickets spin accounted for, the most by any team.

Spinners bowled 58% of the overs. No team accounted for a higher percentage than KKR. Sunrisers just picked up 23 wickets. At slow Eden, the better spin attack has a wholesome advantage. This gives KKR a massive edge.

Verdict

Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad

Playing the opening match of what is going to be an enthralling season is always helpful for any team. The Knight Riders have built their squad keeping their home conditions in mind. The ball likes to turn on the Eden Gardens' pitch, and KKR have plenty of options in the spin bowling department. The middle overs will be interesting to watch, and the spinners of KKR could dismantle SRH, giving the hosts a vital victory.