KR vs SRH: Pat Cummins is now in charge at SRH, and Shreyas Iyer is back in charge at KKR. The third IPL match between the two clubs will take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 23, 2024. 

This season’s IPL 2024 rules will see a significant adjustment. It is with the addition of two bouncers every over. They will have more alternatives in the final overs and this will be a terrific addition to their arsenal of quick bowlers.

Since replacing Tim Paine as captain of Australia, Cummins has led the team to great success. Australia won the WTC championship and the ODI World Cup in 2023 thanks to the right-arm fast bowler.  

With Cummins leading the way, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be aiming for a turnaround in their results. Mitchell Starc is the standout addition for KKR this season and one to keep an eye on with the new ball. 

Their middle order, which struggled to be reliable last year, can be strengthened by Iyer’s return. The last time these two teams faced up at this location, SRH came out on top. Iyer wants to start his squad winning at home. Can he do that?

KKR vs SRH: Match details

Match: KKR vs SRH 3rd Match (Indian Premier League 2024) 

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Eden Gardens Stadium Kolkata 

KKR vs SRH: Match Overview

Kolkata Knight Riders

The previous season wasn’t very good for the Kolkata Knight Riders. It is because they didn’t make it to the playoffs. To put it mildly, they batted with dangerous swings. The Knight Riders need consistency from their main hitters. Even if this roster has a lot of young players and Rinku Singh showed promise last season.

Although Nitish Rana was a good middle-order batsman, he frequently lacked backing as a captain. With Shreyas Iyer returning, he would be thrilled to play his style of cricket, which is natural and aggressive.

Roy and N Jagadeesan’s absence from the team this season means Rahmanullah Gurbaz will have to find an opening partner. It appears quite likely that Sunil Narine and Andre Russell will play in the starting XI given how important they have been to the KKR squad.

That being said, there will be fierce competition for the final two spots reserved for the international players. Mitchell Starc is valued at Rs. 24.75 crores, and KKR wants him to perform well. Gurbaz or Salt, together with a batter, are the likely candidates for the final abroad place.

The good news for the local players is that Manish Pandey has joined the team. That gives this side a great deal more experience.

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

After the mini-auction, this Sunrisers Hyderabad side appears to be quite potential. They have enlisted Wanindu Hasaranga and Pat Cummins, two very important players. 

Since Rashid Khan left for GT, SRH needed a leg-break bowler like Hasaranga. He has been an incredible asset to RCB. This team has a lot of all-rounders who can spin bowls. 

Shahbaz Ahmed joins Abhishek Sharma and Washington Sundar. Here in Kolkata, the spinners will be quite important. Batters may find it challenging to play the spinners since they can get some turns. There’s a chance the ball will stop en route.

Additionally, they have the genius Cummins. He excelled at reading the pitch in Ahmedabad during the World Cup Final. With Jaydev Unadkat, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he spearheads an impressive speed assault.

When it comes to quick bowling, SRH has an abundance of options. Players who can win a game on their own, such as Heinrich Klaasen, Glenn Phillips, and Aiden Markram can be found in the middle order.

On the domestic front, the two players with the most experience are Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi. To win the last several seasons, SRH has largely depended on foreign players due to a shortage of Indian match-winners.

KKR vs SRH: Probable XI

Kolkata Knight Riders

Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Mitchell Starc, Chetan Sakariya

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rahul Tripathi, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Wanindu Hasaranga, Abhishek Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, T Natarajan, Jaydev Unadkat

KKR vs SRH: Pitch report

The game will take place in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Even though the first innings score here averages 165 runs, we think a match-winning total on this little field should be higher than 195–210 runs, particularly if the pitch doesn’t provide much to the bowlers on the day of play. The last time SRH met KKR at this location in 2023, they batted first and scored 228.

KKR vs SRH: Weather report

At Eden Gardens, the surface is well-balanced and provides ample assistance to both bowlers and hitters. Since this is the first IPL match of the season on this field, we think the conditions will be better for batting and anticipate a thrilling game with lots of scoring. On the day of the match, Kolkata will experience clear skies and a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

KKR vs SRH: Toss prediction

Of the 86 T20 matches held at this location, 50 have been won by the team batting second. Teams can chase a target that is less than 200 with ease on this field because the ground isn’t particularly large.

KKR vs SRH: Pre-play prediction

Top batter: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (KKR), Rahul Tripathi (SRH)

Best bowler: Varun Chakravarthy (KKR), Jaydev Unadkat (SRH)

Best all-rounder: Andre Russell (KKR), Pat Cummins (SRH)

Player of the match:  Rahmanullah Gurbaz (KKR)

KKR vs SRH: Match Prediction

A thrilling Twenty20 cricket contest between two evenly matched teams is expected. Both squads have undergone some encouraging adjustments. Seeing Cummins and Starc play will be exciting. Between these two sides, there’s not much to choose from. But, given the home crowd advantage, we anticipate that KKR will have a small advantage going into this game. As a result, they open as favorites in our match prediction.

The favorite to win is KKR.