The third match of IPL 2021 will be played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders from 7:30 pm today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This is the first match of both the teams in this season, so both will try their best to start their campaign with a win.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad have had 19 matches so far in the IPL, out of which Hyderabad have won seven matches and lost 12 matches. However, this season Hyderabad looks strong against KKR.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowling attack has been strengthened by the return of fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar. At the same time, the team already have star T20 bowlers like Rashid Khan, Jason Holder and T. Natarajan.
Johnny Bairstow can open the innings with captain David Warner for Sunrisers. After this, Manish Pandey can bat at number three and Kane Williamson at number four.
This can be followed with, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, and Abhishek Sharma. Rashid Khan will be the lead the spin department. A trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan can be seen in action tonight against Kolkata.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's probable playing XI - David Warner (captain), Johnny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan.
For KKR, Shubman Gill and Sunil Narine can open the innings. After this Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik will bat. Shakib Al Hasan and Andre Russell can play the role of match finishers. Varun Chakraborty will be the lead spinner. Shivam Mavi and the Prasidha Krishna can handle the fast bowling department.
Kolkata Knight Riders predicted playing XI- Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Varun Chakraborty, Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagerkoti and Prasidha Krishna.
KKR vs SRH, Pitch Report: The pitch at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium is generally suitable for spinners. The opening match of this season was played on this ground, where the team batting second faced a lot of difficulty.
The ball is coming on the bat nicely in the beginning, but as the ball gets old, batsmen can be seen struggling. However, given the effect of dew, the team that wins the toss might decide to bowl first.
SRH vs KKR, Match prediction: Sunrisers Hyderabad will most likely emerge victorious in today's match. However, looking at both the teams, the match is expected to be a nail-biting thriller.