KKR stronger, Harry Brook's performance still a concern for SRH in IPL 2023 match today
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on their home ground, Eden Gardens, tonight. While KKR is riding high on their breathtaking win against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the last match, SRH too are coming after their only win against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their last match.
For KKR, things seem to be getting back on track after a poor start. But SRH’s two back-to-back losses against Rajasthan Royals and then Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) sent alarm bells ringing. This is because the men in orange lost both the matches after their batting collapsed.
The team bounced back against Punjab Kings in the third match, but their biggest worry was the underperformance of Harry Brook, who failed to make a mark in his third match as well. Brook has so far been stale in the 3 matches he played, scoring a mere 29 runs.
And ahead of the clash with KKR, as the odds are stacked against SRH, Harry Brook remains their biggest concern.
Harry Brook yet to pick up pace
Brook was the star buy of SRH at the 2023 auctions as the management roped him in for a staggering Rs 13.25 crore.
He had all the reason for being so hyped at the auctions. Brook has a splendid average of 80 in the 6 Test matches he has played so far. He made his debut in Test cricket against South Africa at the Oval in September 2022; and in six matches, the right-handed batter scored 809 runs.
At the Pakistan Premier League (PSL) too, Brook played well as he averaged 26 in 10 games and scored 264 runs.
It was because of his easy picking up of the pace that Brook has been extremely successful in his pursuits.
However, in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Brook has been trying hard to make an impact as he has struggled against leg spinners after being dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal in the first match and then Ravi Bishnoi in the second. In the third match, he was clean bowled by Arshdeep Singh.
Many SRH fans have also called out Harry Brook’s dismal performance. Some also passed jibes at him saying that Indian wickets are not flat like the Pakistani pitches, where Brook played well at the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The key players in SRH
Apart from Brook, Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klassen and skipper Aiden Markram are three batters who can go after a run chase.
But what we saw in the first two matches was the crashing of the middle-order batting, which looks quite ordinary with Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
So far, none of the SRH batters have fired with the bat in the three matches.
Head-to-head stats
Clearly KKR has an upper hand over SRH in head-to-head battles as KKR has won 15 out of the 23 matches played so far in IPL. 8 games were won by SRH.
Pitch report
The Eden Gardens offers a batting-friendly surface and the teams chasing here have a good record of winning the game. Mostly, a team would prefer to opt for bowling at Eden Gardens and the batting side will have a hard time in defending anything below 180.
The key players in KKR
KKR seem to have found a finisher in Rinku Singh and he will again be the key player in today’s match. Apart from Rinku, skipper Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Andre Russel will be to watch out for.
Surprisingly, Russell has yet to get in form with the bat and in the last match, he was caught out on the first ball of Rashid Khan. Along with Sunil Narine, Russell is one of the biggest bets of KKR this season as the all-rounder was retained at Rs 16 crore.
Who has the edge?
If we go by the stats and even the present form, then KKR definitely has an upper hand over SRH. Playing at home conditions give KKR another benefit.
Probable Playing XI
KKR: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Lockie Fergusson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma.
SRH: Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Heinrch Klaasen, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik