Big picture: Rematch of the IPL 2024 final
The last time Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) met, it was in the IPL 2024 final. But three games into IPL 2025, they are at the wrong end of the points table. SRH are eighth and KKR tenth, and the only team either of them have beaten is Rajasthan Royals, sandwiched in between at ninth.
For defending champions KKR, their whole batting line-up has been fragile. Last season, their opening partnership set games up by averaging 43.9 at a strike-rate of 207. This season they are averaging 15.3 and striking at 100. The batters between Nos. 4 to 8 - which includes the retained quartet of Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Ramandeep Singh - are averaging 17.22 and striking at 117.3. They appear to have picked up a vulnerability to the short ball too. Nine of the 12 KKR dismissals to fast bowling this season are to balls pitched between the 8 and 10 metre mark or shorter.
SRH have had poor powerplays with both bat and ball. The shots off Abhishek Sharma's bat have sounded sweet but he has scored only 31 runs in three innings. Against Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals, their batters kept attacking even as wickets tumbled to finish with totals that turned out to be below-par. Their fast bowling was supposed to be an upgrade but they've not made an impact in the first six overs. Their powerplay economy (11.4) is the poorest among all teams this year, and even with the quality of Pat Cummins, Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel, the economy rate (11.7) of their pace attack is in the doldrums. Only RR's quicks (11.8) have fared worse.
Although both teams are facing similar issues, their approaches remain different. Cummins said after the last defeat that SRH will not change their batting plan, while KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo said on match-eve their batters will have to move beyond being aggressive and be crafty. Thursday will show which philosophy succeeds.
An all-out-attack batting approach has turned them into one of the most feared teams in the IPL, but is there a downside to it too?
Form guide
Kolkata Knight Riders LWL (last three matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LLW
Team news: No major injury concerns
SRH are expected to back their primary XII, but the type of pitch (more on that later) could dictate whether they play Adam Zampa, Wiaan Mulder, seamer Simarjeet Singh or spinner Zeeshan Ansari. Anrich Nortje, KKR's fastest bowler, is still not match ready.
Kolkata Knight Riders: (probable) 1 Sunil Narine, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Vaibhav Arora
Sunrisers Hyderabad: (probable) 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Aniket Verma, 6 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 7 Abhinav Manohar, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Wiaan Mulder/Adam Zampa, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Simarjeet Singh/Zeeshan Ansari
Big question
Adam Zampa made a return to the IPL on the back of great performances since 2024. In that period, his 50 appearances have brought 76 wickets at a strike rate of 14.3 and economy of 7.7. He is especially useful between overs 7-16 since 2024, where he has bowled 80% of all his overs. Is it time for him to be a permanent fixture in SRH's line-up?
In the spotlight: Aniket Verma and Andre Russell
Nitish Kumar Reddy was SRH's standout domestic player in 2024 and the team has found another exciting talent in Aniket Verma this season. Even with wickets tumbling, Aniket, bought for INR 30 lakh, has found a way to smash bowlers. His 13-ball 36 against LSG was a trailer of what would follow as he went on to hammer a 41-ball 74 against DC. Aniket has been among the most destructive players of spin in IPL 2025, hitting them for a boundary once every three balls, at a strike rate of 238. His 11 sixes against spin is second only to Nicholas Pooran's 12. With KKR possessing Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in their bowling XI, will Aniket continue his dominance?
Should SRH recalibrate their batting approach? Sanjay Bangar and Aakash Chopra weigh in
Since the end of IPL 2024, Andre Russell has scored only 586 runs in 41 T20 games at an average of 18.9. He also has just nine runs in two innings this IPL. Last season, Russell had given KKR power at the death, averaging 31.20 with a strike-rate of 185. His highest score in IPL 2024 of 64 not out came against SRH at Eden Gardens.
Pitch and conditions: Turn on the cards?
The surface at Eden Gardens has been in focus over the last week. The pitch that was used in the season opener against RCB backfired on KKR, with the captain Rahane asking for something slower that would suit the team's spinners. Two pitches have been prepared for this fixture, both having very little grass, which suggests the team's demand may well have been met.
Key Stats: SRH's dependency on their openers
KKR won all three games against SRH in IPL 2024: one league game, the first qualifier and the final. KKR have also won eight of the last ten matches against SRH.
KKR have the second-lowest powerplay run-rate (7.8) this season, ahead of only CSK's 7.4. They also have the joint worst powerplay bowling strike-rate of 54.
Travis Head has the second highest strike-rate against fast bowling (206) since IPL 2024 (min. 100 balls faced). Abhishek Sharma has the best IPL strike-rate of 206 for the first ten deliveries of an innings (min. 75 balls)
Heinrich Klaasen has never been dismissed by Sunil Narine in five IPL innings, scoring 34 runs off 22 balls. Against Varun Chakravarthy, Klaasen has scored 35 runs off 20 balls, but has been dismissed once.
SRH have an 80% win record when both Head and Abhishek survive the powerplay. It drops to 71% when one of them is dismissed and dips to 17% when both are out.
Quotes
"The bowlers have an attacking plan, but also have a defensive plan. When we are under pressure, you will see our bowlers go to a defensive plan. But when we are also picking up wickets, we will continue to try and pick up more."
KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo
"Our team is suited to play an aggressive style, but we don't speak about 300 as an expectation that are put on us by other people. We try to play a positive brand of cricket. It's a strength of ours and we try to double down on our strengths."
SRH fielding coach Ryan Cook
