Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the second game of the new Indian Premier League season
Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the third game of the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 7.30pm IST (3pm BST) on Sunday, April 10, 2021.
Chennai's M.A. Chidambaram Stadium will stage the game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad finished third last year and look well placed to mount another serious challenge this year, with the opening partnership between David Warner and Jonny Bairstow emerging as one of the strongest in the competition's history, albeit the franchise split them up in the latter half of last season.
Tom Moody has rejoined the team as director of cricket, working above former England head coach Trevor Bayliss.
Bayliss' World Cup-winning captain, Eoin Morgan, will lead Kolkata Knight Riders against them, having narrowly missed out on the playoff phase last season despite an array of talent with bat and ball. Pat Cummins and Andre Russell will be vital components for Morgan's side.
Dafabet have Sunrisers as narrow favourites at 4/5, with KKR available at 21/20 for the win.
A bet with winning potential for Kolkata, however, is in the market for most sixes in the match. Morgan's men are available at 17/20. With Morgan, Russell, Shubman Gill and Sunil Narine all likely to be in action, it is difficult to look past them.
For Sunrisers, Dafabet's odds take heed of the Warner-Bairstow axis that has proven so fruitful; Warner is favourite (2/1) and Bairstow is second (5/2) to top the side's run-scoring stakes in the game.
It is difficult to look past Rashid Khan in any T20 cricket, let alone when representing a franchise with whom he has enjoyed so much success. He sits fourth on the T20 Player Index. This year, compatriot Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been added to provide a third Afghan spin option, with Mohammad Nabi already involved.
On the domestic front, watch out for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose return to fitness and form against England in the recent white-ball series was a major takeaway for India. If he can remain available throughout, Sunrisers will be a tough nut to crack in the powerplay.
For KKR, Shakib al Hasan is back in the fold after his suspension, while Prasidh Krishna will hope to follow a promising start to his international career with further IPL success. Varun Chakravarthy is still waiting to make his India debut, but the mystery spinner's inclusion in recent national squads suggests that the moment might not be far away.
Beginning their campaign with three games in Chennai, KKR may well opt for a spin-heavy attack, with Chakravarthy, Shakib and perhaps even Harbhajan Singh coming into consideration for selection.
For Sunrisers, Mitchell Marsh's late withdrawal from contention for this year's competition allowed a late move for England opener Jason Roy. It is difficult, though, to see where he might fit in.
The two teams have played each other 19 times.
Kolkata Knight Riders wins: 12
Sunrisers Hyderabad wins: 7
Temperatures of around 32 Celsius with the humidity in the 60s. There is only a very slight chance of rain.
No, this match will be played behind closed doors owing to the Covid-19 situation in India.
A tough one to call, given the hitting power of both sides. The return of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, however, tilts this in Sunrisers' favour. The recruitment of Kedhar Jadhav's all-round skills might also allow Bayliss' side to field both Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson, having previously been forced to choose between the two.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Sunrisers Hyderabad squad: Kane Williamson, David Warner, Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan, Abhishek Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, Jason Holder, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Yadav, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Jason Roy
Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan
KKR: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Shakib al Hasan, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
Our coverage of the IPL is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here
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