A keen contest is on the cards when the rampaging Kolkata Knight Riders clash with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in a second phase league match of the IPL on Sunday.

Leading the points table with 14 points from nine matches (with just two losses), KKR have been in sublime form in the ongoing edition of IPL. Sunrisers, on the other hand, are currently in third spot with 11 points from nine matches.

The fact that some of the records in the ongoing IPL are held by KKR players reflect the red-hot form of the team. KKR captain Gautam Gambhir holds the Orange Cap in batting, Sunil Narine, who is now a dependable opener for KKR, is at the top in the race for ‘Most Valuable Player’ and Robin Uthappa has hit the ‘Most Sixes’.

The individual record for most wicket, though, belongs to Sunrisers’ Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who will be expected to rein in the KKR batsmen, who have been in fine form off late. His teammates, Ashish Nehra and Rashid Khan are also in fine form and will provide good support.

Time: 8 pm

Venue: Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderbad

TV: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony ESPN and their HD channels

Head-to-Head since 2016

Played: 4

Sunrisers: 1

KKR: 3

Sunrisers Hyderabad

  • Hyderabad have struggled to beat KKR over the years. In the 10 games played between the two sides, Sunrisers have managed to win just three games.
  • Sunrisers have yet to be beaten in a home game this season.
  • David Warner is just three runs short of making 1000 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.

“As a team goal, we always say that one of the top four batsmen has to stay till the end because then that gives a huge advantage to the batting side. And so that’s what we plan and try to implement.”

- Shikhar Dhawan on Sunrisers’ batting strategy.

Squad: David Warner (c), Tanmay Agarwal, Ricky Bhui, Bipul Sharma, Ben Cutting, Shikhar Dhawan, Eklavya Dwivedi, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan,Siddharth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ben Laughlin, Abhimanyu Mithun, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammed Siraj, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Nehra, Naman Ojha (wk), Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar,Barinder Sran, Pravin Tambe, Kane Williamson and Yuvraj Singh.

Kolkata Knight Riders

  • KKR pacer Umesh Yadav has dismissed him three times so far. Warner has yet to be dismissed by one bowler more than three times in the IPL.
  •   Kolkata Knight Riders have scored at a rate of 9.31 this season, the highest so far.

“We still have a long way to go. So far most of the boxes are ticked. But this is that type of tournament that we can’t be complacent. There’s always room for improvement. We can put more effort in the field. Any run you save, the less you have to score.”

- Gautam Gambhir on KKR’s journey so far in IPL 10.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir (c), Darren Bravo, Trent Boult, Piyush Chawla, Nathan Coulter Nile, Colin De Grandhomme, Rishi Dhawan, Sayan Ghosh, Shaikb-Al-Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Ishank Jaggi, Kuldeep Yadav, Chris Woakes, Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Ankit Rajpoot, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Uthappa and Umesh Yadav.