Match 3: KKR vs SRH, Indian Premier League 2024
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Location: Kolkata
Time: 19:30 IST (14:00 GMT)
Team News
Shreyas Iyer is set to lead KKR again after missing the 2023 season due to injury. Recent concerns about his fitness, stemming from back spasms during the Ranji Trophy final, raised questions about his availability. However, he participated in KKR's practice match earlier this week and is deemed fit for the upcoming match. Dushmantha Chameera is likely to miss the initial games due to a quadriceps injury sustained during the first ODI against Afghanistan.
Wanindu Hasaranga will be unavailable for the first game. His status is somewhat uncertain as he is part of Sri Lanka's Test squad in Bangladesh but cannot play due to an ICC suspension. His absence simplifies the selection of overseas players for Cummins.
Line ups
Kolkata Knight Riders
If KKR bats first, they may start with Nitish Rana, with Suyash Sharma as the Impact Player in the second innings. The reverse strategy can be employed if they bowl first.
Probable XII: 1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Ramandeep Singh, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Suyash Sharma
An alternative strategy for batting first involves Ramandeep Singh replacing a dismissed Nitish Rana, if necessary. Alternatively, Vaibhav Arora can bolster the bowling by replacing Nitish at the start of the second innings.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
If SRH bats first, they may start with Abdul Samad and bring in T Natarajan for the second half. The strategy reverses if they bowl first.
Probable XII: 1 Abhishek Sharma/Mayank Agarwal, 2 Travis Head, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Umran Malik, 12 T Natarajan
Alternatively, if batting first, Abdul Samad can replace a dismissed Rahul Tripathi, or Jaydev Unadkat can replace Tripathi in the second innings.