IPL 2017, SRH vs KKR: Face-off

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad in what promises to be a fascinating encounter between two of the top four teams in the league. While Kolkata are well and truly on top with seven wins in nine games, Sunrisers Hyderabad come a distant third with five wins from as many games.

Kolkata Knight Riders have benefitted from their meticulous seamers, in particular, Nathan Coulter-Nile who has been amongst the wickets. Their batting has been ever impressive with Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa in spectacular touch. Sunil Narine has added a unique flavour at the top of the order and Manish Pandey has more often than not delivered when needed.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are on a decent run themselves courtesy their strong core. David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan have been good at the top while Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh and Moises Henriques have been stable in the middle order.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan have been impeccable with the ball. The likes of Ashish Nehra and Siddharth Kaul have also been good for the Hyderabad franchise. While their away record this season is tumultuous, there is no doubting their spirit at home.

Here we look at a statistical comparison between these two teams ahead of their clash on Sunday. A player vs player comparison is done keeping in mind the probable eleven of both teams. The statistics are purely based on the performance of these players in the IPL.

Player vs Player Comparison

Sunrisers Hyderabad	Kolkata Knight Riders	Who's the winner?
David Warner Runs-3706, Avg-39.43, SR-141.61	Gautam Gambhir Runs-4011, Avg-32.09, SR-125.27	SRH
Shikhar Dhawan Runs-3394, Avg-32.63, SR-121.52	Robin Uthappa Runs-3721, Avg-30.25, SR-131.39	Equal
Kane Williamson Runs-319, Avg-35.44, SR-132.37	Manish Pandey Runs-2084, Avg-28.16, SR-120.88	SRH
Yuvraj Singh Runs-2446, Avg-24.96, SR-131.36 Wkts-36, Avg-28.83, Eco-7.36	Yusuf Pathan Runs-2866, Avg-30.82, SR-146.37 Wkts-41, Avg-33.39, Eco-7.35	KKR
Moises Henriques Runs-892, Avg-28.77, SR-128.35 Wkts-38, Avg-29.87, Eco-8.2	Sunil Narine Runs-188, Avg-13.43, SR-141.35 Wkts-91, Avg-20.13, Eco-6.23	KKR
Deepak Hooda Runs-373, Avg-14.35, SR-139.18 Wkts-6, Avg-44.67, Eco-8.33	Colin de Grandhomme Runs-1, Avg-0.33, SR-16.67 Wkts-4, Avg-15, Eco-7.83	N/A
Naman Ojha Runs-1528, Avg-21.22, SR-119	Sheldon Jackson Runs-12, Avg-0, SR-240	N/A
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Wkts-103, Avg-21.1, Eco-7.01	Chris Woakes Wkts-7, Avg-36.14, Eco-9.37	SRH
Rashid Khan Wkts-11, Avg-13.82, Eco-6.08	Kuldeep Yadav Wkts-14, Avg-21.64, Eco-7.77	SRH
Siddharth Kaul Wkts-11, Avg-39.55, Eco-8.79	Nathan Coulter-Nile Wkts-32, Avg-19.03, Eco-7.63	KKR
Ashish Nehra Wkts-106, Avg-23.49, Eco-7.86	Umesh Yadav Wkts-83, Avg-30.22, Eco-8.45	SRH

SRH 5 - 3 KKR

Both teams have been at the top of their game in this season with Kolkata edging their way to the top courtesy some extraordinary seam bowling and top-class batting. Sunrisers have been edgy this season after a title-winning run a year ago but seem to have found their groove at the right time.

Both teams are equal in most respects and it might just come down to individual brilliance to decide a winner.