Down in Ahmedabad, Chennai have secured a commanding 83-run victory over Gujarat in the day’s first game. However, despite this win, CSK cannot escape the wooden spoon. With only 4 wins from 14 games, they will finish at the bottom of the standings for the first time in their history. For GT, this loss means their fate is no longer in their own hands when it comes to securing a top-two finish. Both coveted spots will now be decided over the next two days, adding more drama to the IPL’s final stretch.
SRH's Travis Head is in for a chat. He says that the bout of Covid wasn’t ideal, but now he is feeling good being back to playing cricket. Hopes that they will end the season on a winning note. Adds that he has played here in Delhi a couple of times, but it’s about knowing the conditions and setting up a platform for a good score. Mentions that it’s about following the same routine, working hard and training well, but this season hasn’t gone well for them. Feels that it's part and parcel of cricket. He further says it’s nice to come here in Delhi and play. States they played really well at this venue last season, and he feels the wicket might be good to bat on given how the previous games over here have panned out.
The skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, Ajinkya Rahane, says that they were looking to bowl first. Mentions that teams batting second in the last games chased down totals easily, and hence, they wanted to bowl first. Tells it is challenging to play after a long break, but as professionals, it was about focusing on the controllables during the break. Says that everyone will go home after the game, but they need to play today for the fans, and for the franchise, and win this game. Adds that they had their moments in the season, and everyone has tried their best, but it hasn’t gone their way. States that it is about accepting the errors, taking the learnings, as well as picking up the positives. He says Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been brilliant, and he is an opener, but they have played him at different positions depending on the game situation. He believes Angkrish has a good future. He says he doesn’t remember the changes as they are playing after 18 days.
The captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pat Cummins, says that it looks like a pretty good surface. Mentions that they have clicked as a team, as the bowlers have been sharp and the batters have played to their potential. Admits it is always good to find momentum early, but stresses that the good thing is they know they can keep this squad going forward for a couple of years. Highlights that they have played well in the last 3-4 matches and will try to keep that consistency going in this match. Informs that they are unchanged for this fixture.
Impact subs for KKR - Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Spencer Johnson and Luvnith Sisodia.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI) - Quinton de Kock (WK) (In for Rahmanullah Gurbaz), Manish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje (In for Moeen Ali), Varun Chakaravarthy.
Impact subs for SRH - Mohammad Shami, Harsh Dubey, Sachin Baby, Zeeshan Ansari and Simarjeet Singh.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Unchanged Playing XI) - Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins (C), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
TOSS - Sunrisers Hyderabad win the flip of the coin and they will BAT first.