SRH aim to dent KKR’s play-off prospects

Dubai, Oct 02 (PTI): Out of the play-offs race, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to dent Kolkata Knight Riders’ chances of making it to the knockout stage when they face off in an IPL game here on Sunday.
With nine defeats from 11 matches, SRH are languishing at the bottom, while KKR still have hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage as they are at fourth place with 10 points from 12 matches.
SRH have won just one match out of the four that they have played since the resumption of the IPL in the UAE. While SRH had returned to winning ways after five losses on the trot with a convincing victory over Rajasthan Royals, they lost their last game by six wickets at Sharjah, allowing Chennai Super Kings to qualify for the play-offs.
The Sunrisers had dropped their only IPL-winning (2016) skipper David Warner after axing him from captaincy but that didn’t change the fate of the team as Kane Williamson has not been able to revive the fortunes of the Orange Army.
For SRH, batting remains their weakest link, especially in the absence of Jonny Bairstow.
While English opener Jason Roy sizzled on his debut with a quickfire 60 and Williamson too scored a 51 in their successful chase of 165 against RR, both came a cropper against CSK in their last game.
For KKR, the UAE leg of the IPL has been a topsy-turvy affair as they have won three games, while losing two so far. The two-time former champions have impressed with their performance in the second half, and even their two defeats were narrow, where they lost in the last over.
Venkatesh Iyer has been the star performer with the bat in the second leg for KKR, while Rahul Tripathi has scored the maximum runs for the team this season.
The decision to move Nitish Rana up the order has also paid dividends but Shubman Gill has not been able to capitalise on the starts.