More than its opponents, it is the weather that has been the biggest challenge for Kolkata Knight Riders in its recent outings.
When the defending champion meets Sunrisers Hyderabad in its fifth home fixture at the Eden Gardens on Monday, it will hope that the rain gods will relent over the full span of time allotted for the match.
Incidentally, it was with its match against the Sunrisers at Visakhapatnam on April 22 that the sequence of rain interferences started; and since then three of the five matches featuring the Knight Riders have been rain-hit, and the side has been at the receiving end in most of them.
First, it lost by D/L method at Visakhapatnam before the next match against Rajasthan Royals at home was washed out. It lost to Chennai Super Kings before beating the same team on the return leg, both full length matches. The rains came to haunt it again when it lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in a truncated affair on Saturday.
With thunder showers forecast in the city on Monday, the rain threat will continue to dog KKR which will try to hold on to its fourth spot in the league standings. The match will be crucial as a win for the visitor will help it edge the host and move up the table. KKR has nine points to its credit after playing as many matches while SRH has played a match less for eight points.
Given the situation, KKR will look make the most of the home advantage and utilise its spin-heavy attack to upstage the visitor on the slow spinning track.
Gautam Gambhir’s own form with the bat has fluctuated in the last few innings but the KKR skipper still remains a key player. What may be heartening for him will be the form of his opening partner, Robin Uthappa, who seems to be finding his rhythm. Uthappa is currently the side’s top run-scorer this season with 246 from eight innings.
KKR’s bowling has seen a revival under veteran left-arm spinner Brad Hogg; in the absence of Sunil Narine the Aussie has picked up six wickets in three matches with an economy rate of 7.00, while Caribbean all-rounder Andre Russell has given the team solidity in both the departments.
The Sunrisers will be carrying the confidence of having convincingly beaten the current league leader CSK at home in the last match.
Captain David Warner is leading by example with an aggregate of 378 runs at a commendable average of 47.25, and has pulled the visitors’ batting almost single-handedly.
The side has one of the best bowling combinations of the tournament, with the names like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Trent Boult, Moises Henriques and Karn Sharma showing good form.
With both sides packing a host of stars, the match has all the ingredients of being an absorbing contest.
