IPL 2023: SRH top-order under pressure ahead of KKR game

Sunrisers Hyderabad will expect more consistency from their top-order when it hosts Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Both teams are languishing at the bottom of the table, and another loss will put a serious dent in their play-off qualification chances.

Getting Abhishek Sharma back to open worked in the previous game for Sunrisers and now they will be hoping their other opener, Mayank Agarwal, to find some fluency.

The batting as a whole has not clicked for Sunrisers and therefore it is not a surprise they find themselves in a desperate situation in the second half of the tournament.

While Agarwal is striking at an underwhelming 110 at the top, number three Rahul Tripathi is not faring any better either. Skipper Aiden Markram too needs to lead from the front and Harry Brook, despite scoring a hundred, has failed in majority of the games.

He is back in the middle order and the management will be hoping that he finds some rhythm.

All-rounder Washington Sundar being ruled out of the IPL due to injury is a big blow to Sunrisers.

Pacer Umran Malik has the worst economy rate among the bowlers and has only taken five wickets in seven games, contributing to the team’s woes.

KKR too would be expecting more fluency from their batters as it looks to get the campaign back on track after six defeats in nine games.

They have been found wanting in all three departments of the game, something that was mentioned by skipper Nitish Rana after the loss to Gujarat Giants.

“In crucial games and against top oppositions, you need to do all the basics well in all the three departments of the game,” he had said.