IPL 2019: Match 2, KKR vs SRH Today's Predicted Playing 11, Preview & Key Players

Last season table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will visit the iconic Eden Gardens for the second match of IPL 2019 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, March 24.

Head to Head Overall Stats: Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders have faced each other in 15 Indian Premier League games and out of those KKR have secured nine while SRH managed to grab the honors on six occasions.

Head to Head at Eden Gardens: At Eden Gardens, Kolkata previously welcomed the Sunrisers on seven occasions and comprehensively leads the scoreline by winning five of those. Meanwhile last year both teams played two games at this venue with KKR emerging victorious on both occasions.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2019 Squad

Kolkata Knight Riders had a decent campaign last season and ended on the third spot to qualify for playoffs. Though their final hopes vanished after a 14-run defeat in the Qualifier two against the Sunrisers and they would eye revenge in their opening game.

Batting

Key Players - Dinesh Kartik, Chris Lynn & Robin Uthappa.

Dinesh Karthik persistent approach for the runs always makes him a dangerous batsman in the middle order as the KKR skipper was his team's highest run-getter in the previous season with 498 runs at a strike rate of 147.77.

Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa are the other key batters in the team with their ability to score big. Except for these men, the team will also love to utilize Sunil Narine's big hitting skills at the top.

Bowling

Key Players - Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson & Kuldeep Yadav.

Sunil Narine was KKR's leading wicket-taker in 2018 with 17 wickets and was in good touch during the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League with 18 scalps. He will be joined by Lockie Ferguson, who has been a huge success for New Zealand in international cricket.

He is expected to be Kartik's go to bowler during the powerplay overs. Kuldeep Yadav's spinning abilities adds a certain plus to the team's performance as he finished IPL 2018 with 17 wickets.

Expected Playing XI

Dinesh Karthik (C & W), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Lockie Ferguson, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, and Robin Uthappa.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL 2019 Squad.

The orange army had a stellar beginning to their IPL campaign last year by winning nine of their first eleven fixtures to solidify their playoff berth but lost their momentum towards the business end and fell to CSK in the finals.

Batting

Key Players - Kane Williamson, David Warner & Wriddhiman Saha.

Skipper Kane Williamson was season's best batsman in IPL 2018 with 735 runs and the orange cap winner looks set for another jumbo run here. Meanwhile, the return of the Australian opener David Warner will boost their batting strength even further.

The batsman last featured in BPL 2019 and scored three fifties in his seven outings for the Sylhet Sixers, Warner missed last season of IPL due to CA's ban and he will be eager to mark his return with a blistering show.

Except these two, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey are expected to play a key role.

Bowling

Key Players - Rashid Khan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar & Shakib Al Hasan.

The trio of Rashid Khan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Shakib Al Hasan forms the core of SRH bowling lineup. All three are going through a supreme run with Rashid picking up 19 wickets in BBL 2018-19 while Shakib led the bowling charts by picking 23 wickets in BPL 2019.

Bhuvneshwar's experience and ability to break partnerships with the new ball adds edge to their ranks. Siddarth Kaul was among key scalpers for the Sunrisers last season with 21 wickets and the skipper will need him to continue from where he left in 2018.

Expected Playing XI

Kane Williamson (C), David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha (W), Shakib Al Hasan, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, and Khaleel Ahmed.