IPL 2023, KKR vs SRH: Decoding the key player battles

Kolkata Knight Riders will host Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in match number 19 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season on Friday. KKR will look up to their spinners for joy at home. With the bat, Rinku Singh will get attention. SRH need a complete performance and will bank upon their key resources.Here we present the key player battles.

KKR ace Sunil Narine has been amongst the wickets, claiming six this season at 14.83. Narine will look to keep SRH skipper Aiden Markram under wraps. Markram is a solid player and can be dangerous. As per ESPNcricinfo, Markram has scored 20 runs from 23 balls off Narine's bowling, striking at 86.95. Narine has dismissed Markram once so far in three innings.

After impressing versus RCB at Eden with a four-fer, KKR's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was off color against Gujarat. However, he will be keen to get his rhythm back. Tackling Chakravarthy will be Tripathi, who is a good player of spin. Tripathi has smashed 24 runs from nine balls off Chakravarthy, striking at a rapid 266.66. Chakravarthy hasn't dismissed Tripathi so far.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the most successful bowler against KKR in the IPL, claiming 30 scalps at 23.53. Bhuvi will look to get early wickets and might fancy his chances against Venkatesh Iyer at number three. Although Bhuvi is yet to dismiss Venky, he has conceded just 14 from 17 balls against the southpaw. Meanwhile, Bhuvi has dismissed left-handed batters 39 times in IPL.

Umran Malik will be handy for SRH with his sheer pace. He has been impressive since foraying into the IPL. Andre Russell, who has got dismissed cheaply in his last two innings, will be targeted by the young Indian fast bowler. Russell has managed just nine runs off Malik's 11 deliveries with a strike rate of 81.81.