IPL 2023 KKR vs SRH Preview - Which Knight Rider will provide the match winning performance today?

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – Eden Gardens

Average first innings score: 162
Average first innings winning score: 173
Average powerplay score: 47
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 43% / 57%

Team form KKR vs SRH

KKR: WWL
SRH: WLL

Recent meetings: KKR won by 54 runs, SRH won by 7 wickets

Preview KKR vs SRH

KKR’s remarkable victory against Gujarat and Sunrisers easy win over Punjab have put a shine on what had otherwise been disappointing starts to the season for both franchises.

KKR’s back to back wins have come more as a result of the brilliance of individuals than of having solved any of the issues that have plagued the franchise over the last year in a bit.

The top order is still a shambles and it wouldn’t be any great surprise to see further changes within the top 3. However, things aren’t much better for SRH and in fact this match will see the team with the lowest average powerplay score (Sunrisers) go up against the team who loses the most wickets during the same period (Knight Riders).

Team	Average Powerplay Score	Average wicket lost in Powerplay
RR	66.8	1.3
CSK	60.8	1.0
GT	57.7	1.7
PBKS	53.3	1.3
RCB	53.0	0.7
MI	52.7	1.3
LSG	48.0	1.8
DC	47.0	2.0
KKR	45.3	2.3
SRH	35.7	1.3

Powerplay batting records IPL 2023 - accurate for games completed up to 12 April 2023

The only plus for KKR in their top 5 this season has been the return to form of Venkatesh Iyer who the franchise decided to retain ahead of last season’s mega auction and who has been a massive disappointment ever since. Despite his 83 from 40 balls in the previous game, I still have major concerns about his ability to deal with any form of lateral movement whether off the pitch or through the air against spin or seam. Technique might not mean quite as much in shorter formats but the guy still looks like he’s had his feet nailed to the crease.

In the last match at Eden Gardens, KKR dominated proceedings on a turning pitch with 3 front line spinners. If conditions are the same for this game then expect something similar.

By contrast, Sunrisers dropped Adil Rashid for their win against Punjab in order to accommodate 3 overseas batsmen and Marco Jansen. Mayank Markande, the forgotten man of the IPL, making just his 7th start since he played all 14 of Mumbai Indians’ matches in 2018, picked up 4 wickets and their must be the temptation to play him alongside, Washington Sundar and at least one other spinner in this game if turn is going to be the defining factor.

These 2 sides met twice last season with the games finishing with one easy victory a piece. In the context of some of the great finishes we've witnessed of late, we hope for something more entertaining between KKR and SRH this year.

KKR vs SRH head to head

SRH bowling vs KKR batting

Bhuvi has been a bit of a disappointment for the Sunrisers in the tournament so far. The veteran has bowled just 9 overs, taken 2 wickets and is going at an economy rate of 9.77. Yes, he does bowl some of the tough overs at the start and end of an innings but you’d expect much better returns from him. He does at least have a very good record at Eden Gardens to fall back on but if SRH do opt to play an extra spinner, could he be the man left out?

Bhuvi IPL bowling record at Eden Gardens

The stats are also against him when it comes to match ups with KKR’s lower order batsmen at the death. Andre Russell has an excellent head to head record against Bhuvi (strike rate of 212) while conversely Natarajan and Umran Malik have done well to limit the big Jamaican in previous meetings.

Natarajan and Umran Malik combined T20 head to head vs Andre Russell

Getting the match-ups right at the end of the innings will be crucial for SRH against a KKR side who are scoring at exactly 12 an over for the final 5 overs in their 3 matches to date. At the time of writing, the 3rd best death overs strike in IPL 2023.

KKR bowling vs SRH batting

Rahul Tripathi is one of my favourite Indian cricketers and he comes into this match off the back of some form and with a great IPL record at Eden Gardens. The right-hander scored a brilliant 93 from 52 balls here back in 2017 for Rising Pune against a KKR side that included the likes of Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav.

Rahul Tripathi IPL batting stats at Eden Gardens

I did note in my last match preview of the Sunrisers that their right-hand dominant attack could be vulnerable to left-arm bowlers. With the withdrawal of Shakib Al Hasan from this year’s IPL, KKR might be tempted to give Anukul Roy another try. The all-rounder has had a lengthy IPL career primarily as a substitute fielder and it might be time to see if the former U-19 star can cut it at this level.

Anukul Roy IPL career bowling stats since debut in 2019

The luxury of picking a player like Anukul Roy in order to target very specific head to heads might largely depend on whether Andre Russell is going to bowl in this year’s IPL. There’s been no word out of the KKR camp to say that he isn’t fit to do so and even Russell himself was boasting a couple of weeks ago that he plans to dismiss Virat Kohli this season (he has done so twice before but at the cost of 111 runs).

Andre Russell T20 head to head bowling stats vs current SRH squad

His record with the ball against the Sunrisers squad is very good, having dismissed the likes of Agarwal, Tripathi and Jansen twice before and other wickets vs Brook, Markram and Washington Sundar. He also took 5 wickets against SRH in the corresponding fixtures last year. You feel that he’ll make an impact at some point this season and with Rinku Singh and Shardul Thakur hogging the limelight with the bat, perhaps it’ll come instead with ball in hand…

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL head to head player stats
IPL player stats by venue
IPL stadium statistics.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and highlights within GIFs which are not intended to infringe copyright- read full disclaimer. Background images are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free.