Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders Preview: Underdogs against superstars

The first Sunday of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will see Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This will be match #3 of the season and will be played at the same venue as the first match of the campaign between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

For the last five years in a row, the Sunrisers have reached the playoffs. David Warner returns to the captaincy seat, while Kane Williamson’s role comes under focus.

Mitchell Marsh’s injury has opened the doors for the signing of England opener Jason Roy. The signing of Kedar Jadhav gives them additional all-round option while the Afghan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman gives them depth.

Roy has joined the squad on Saturday but will not be able to play this game due to quarantine rules.

Kolkata Knight Riders finished outside the top-four last season, although finishing on the same points as third and fourth placed teams. Poor starts, frequent team changes, and change of captaincy in the middle of the season were the prime reasons for their poor season.

Gurkeerat Mann has replaced the injured Rinku Singh, while Harbhajan Singh, Shakib Al Hasan, Karun Nair and Ben Cutting have been added to the squad via player auction.

The entire squad is available for selection.

Kolkata Knight Riders have a 12-7 win-loss record against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. That includes winning the last two matches in IPL 2020.

In the first match, Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 70 helped KKR to a seven-wicket win after restricting Sunrisers to 142/4. The second one was a closer encounter going into the one-over eliminator after the teams were tied up at 163 in the stipulated 20 overs. Lockie Ferguson was the star of the show with 3/15 during the normal play before taking 2/2 in the Super Over.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have always been a strong bowling unit and will continue to be so. Questions remain over the middle-order although Kedar Jadhav is a good acquisition. Kolkata Knight Riders have a well-balanced side but the choice of first team could be a tricky proposition for Eoin Morgan. The players he chooses to leave may well be the deciding factor in their performances.

Sunrisers Hyderabad should fancy their chances of a strong start considering the presence of Kane Williamson at the top. Talisman Rashid Khan should once again be their go-to bowler, although Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan have done enough to be leaders of the pack. Kolkata will depend on their star foreign recruits to lead the way. The star power in the Knight Riders camp gives us enough confidence to back them in the most 6s market. Sunrisers look good for another shot at the powerplay honours, while Rashid Khan could be an outside pick to end up as their best bowler.