With two losses in three games so far, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will face each other at the Eden Gardens on Thursday in an attempt to bring their IPL 2025 campaign back on track. A lot has changed since the KKR vs SRH final in IPL 2024, which the Kolkata-based franchise won convincingly.
The defending champions do not have captain Shreyas Iyer and mentor Gautam Gambhir while SRH too have got a few new faces in their squad this year. One of the major reasons for KKR’s mixed start to the season is their star-studded middle-order’s – Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer – struggle with the bat.
While Australian Spencer Johnson is yet to impress, there is no update on when South African pace import Anrich Nortje will be available to take the field. On the other hand, SRH made a dominating start to the season with 286/6 against Rajasthan Royals.
But in the net two matches, SRH have failed against Lucknow Super Giants and and Delhi Capitals. Despite the loses. captain Pat Cummins stated that will continue to play in the same template.
KKR vs SRH probable playing XIs
KKR probable playing XI vs SRH: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Vaibhav Arora, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Varun Chakaravarthy.
KKR Impact Player vs SRH: While KKR are batting, Angkrish Raghuvanshi can come in as an Impact Player. During bowling, Vaibhav Arora can replace Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
Other Impact Player options for KKR: Manish Pandey, Mayank Markande, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali.
