Top 5 Players To Watch Out For In The Match Between Kolkata Knight Riders And Sunrisers Hyderabad

The league stage has ended and we have got the names of the 4 teams who will be playing in the playoffs of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after playing 14 matches each for a period of more than 2 months. The first qualifiers will be between the top 2 teams i.e, Kolkata and Hyderabad, who are sitting in the 1st and 1st position after getting 20 and 17 points. Meanwhile, the second qualifiers will be between the 3rd and 4th position teams that are Rajasthan and Bangalore, on May 22nd at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where the team winning in this game will be heading towards the eliminator, which will be facing the losing team of the qualifier 1 at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai to reach in the finals on May 25th, 2024.

Tomorrow, we will witness an epic encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It will be interesting to see which team will emerge victorious in this upcoming game, as both of them have one of the best players in the squad who can make their team win single-handedly. Throwing light on this mega-event let me take you to the list of 5 players from Kolkata and Hyderabad, who can play a crucial role in tomorrow’s game.

1. Sunil Narine 

The former West Indies all-rounder has been in top-notch form in the ongoing India Premier League, where he is the leading run-scorer from the Kolkata-based franchise in the ongoing tournament with 461 runs in 13 games with an average of 38, having 1 hundred and 3 half-centuries to his name. Apart from his incredible batting, the off-spinner has also picked key wickets for his team in the middle overs, which has helped them to reach in the playoffs of the IPL 2024.

Narine has picked 15 wickets in  13 games with an efficiency of 6 by conceding 312 runs. It will be interesting to see how the Sunrisers Hyderabad team are going to play against Sunil Narine.

2. T Natarajan 

T Natarajan has been one of the best bowlers from the Hyderabad-based franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League, who can pick wickets with his toe-crushing yorkers in the death overs as well as in the middle overs for the Orange Army. Going in qualifiers 1, the Hyderabad-born bowler can play a crucial role in stopping the Kolkata Knight Riders batters from scoring runs with his accurate yorkers.

It will be really interesting to see how Natarajan bowls against the destructive batting lineup of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh. The left-handed fast bowler has picked up a total of 17 wickets in 11 games so far in the tournament by conceding just 401 runs with an economy of 9.25.

3. Varun Chakravarthy 

The Mystery spinner from the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise has played a great role for the team with his unpredictable bowling, he has single-handedly won multiple games for the 2012 winners. In the upcoming match at Ahmedabad, it will be interesting to see how Hyderabad’s destructive batting lineup will play against Chakravarthy spin bowling as the Narendra Modi Stadium has a bigger boundary compared to other venues, so it will be difficult for the Hyderabad batters to score runs on Varun’s bowling.

Varun Chakravarthy has been among the leading wicket-takers for the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, with 18 wickets in 13 games with an efficiency of 8.34 by conceding just 367 runs.

4. Travis Head 

 It’s the debut season for the Australian destructive batter for the Hyderabad-based franchise, where he has shown his worth by being the 3rd highest run-getter in the Indian Premier League after India’s Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad with 533 runs in 12 games with an average of 48, having 1 hundred and 4 half-centuries to his name.

Travis holds a great record while playing at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where he made Australia win the ICC World Cup 2023 by scoring a hundred against the Indian team. The Southpaw batter can play a match-winning knock in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders to make his team reach in the finals of the Indian Premier League.

5. Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has been the talk of the town in the ongoing tournament with the way he is playing fearless cricket from the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s team along with his opening partner Travis Head. Abhishek Sharma has joined in the list of players who have scored the fastest fifty in IPL history.

Abhishek’s morale will be high as he will be coming into this game after playing a match-winning knock in the final league match against Punjab Kings while chasing a target of 215 runs, the left-hand batter scored 66 runs in 28 balls with a strike rate of 235, having 5 boundaries and 6 maximum all over the ground.