The Indian Premier League (IPL) returned for its 17th edition this Friday. The third match of the season on Saturday, March 23, will see the first clash between two former champions, as Kolkata Knight Riders host Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens.
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Both these teams raised eyebrows during the player auction as SRH signed Pat Cummins and KKR signed Mitchell Starc for upwards of Rs 20 crore.
They are also two dark horses for this season's championship. There is an air of uncertainty around them, but with a bit of luck and combinations clicking early on, they could both be real forces to contend with.
KKR VS SRH: Impact Players
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact players:
Manish Pandey, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Suyash Sharma comes in as the Impact Sub for KKR in place of Ramandeep Singh.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact players:
Washington Sundar, Nitish Reddy, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma comes in as the Impact Sub for Thangarasu Natarajan.
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KKR vs SRH: Prediction
During the auction, much of the focus was on SRH's collection of overseas players with the likes of Cummins, Head and Hasaranga all vying for a starting spot. This could lead to a couple of different team combinations, but their Indian bowling core and top-order should remain relatively stable.
If the pitch at Eden Gardens assists spin, KKR will be massive favourites as their three-pronged attack of Sunil Narine, CV Varun and Suyash Sharma could run riot. With Andre Russell also looking in good shape and solid players of spin in Nitish Rana and Shreyas Iyer, they have a formidable side. Expect a closely-fought match.
KKR vs SRH: Betting odds
SRH are slight favourites to win the match according to Betting Odds via Dafabet.
| Team | Odds |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 2.00 |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 1.90 |
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