A hazy warmth hung above the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium when Ajinkya Rahane, leading Kolkata Knight Riders, called correctly at the toss. Instead of batting first himself, he chose to send Sunrisers Hyderabad in. That decision arrived minutes ahead of the 3:30 PM beginning.
One wrong move could cost the travelling team everything. Chasing a rare third victory in a row, KKR fights to breathe life into slim postseason chances. On the flip side, Sunrisers, led by Pat Cummins, are going to make it six wins straight, pushing closer toward pole position. A surge like theirs doesn’t happen every season.
On the flat Hyderabad pitch, adjustments were inevitable. SRH swapped things around, bringing in seasoned Harshal Patel while giving newcomer Ravichandran Smaran his first chance. Nitish Kumar Reddy missed out, so did Harsh Dubey, making room for fresh options. Change felt necessary under that sun-baked track.
KKR tweaked their lineup again. Finn Allen stepped in for fellow New Zealand player Tim Seifert, whereas Manish Pandey took Ramandeep Singh’s spot. Matheesha Pathirana stayed on the sidelines once more after missing the last match against LSG.
Though he hasn’t played lately, bowler Pathirana is reportedly hitting good rhythm during practice sessions, according to bowling coach Tim Southee. Behind the stumps now stands Angrish Raghuvanshi, who swaps in for Seifert.
SRH vs KKR Playing XI:
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi(wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact subs: Finn Allen, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert
Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(wk), Aniket Verma, Smaran Ravichandran, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga
Impact subs: Praful Hinge, Harsh Dubey, Liam Livingstone, Sakib Hussain, Zeeshan Ansari
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