Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad prediction and cricket betting tips

Where to watch Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 3pm Tuesday

Best bets

Abhishek Sharma top Sunrisers Hyderabad runscorer
1pt 4-1 bet365, BoyleSports

Rahmanullah Gurbaz to score under 22.5 runs
2pts 5-6 bet365

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad prediction

The IPL playoffs begin on Tuesday when Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, the top two in the regular-season standings, meet in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad.

The winners progress to Sunday's final while the losers will have another chance on Friday, taking on the winners of Wednesday's Qualifier 2 in which faltering Rajasthan Royals face red-hot Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Kolkata's final league game against Rajasthan was washed out on Sunday but they had won their previous four matches to finish three points clear of Hyderabad, who chased down 215 against Punjab Kings at the weekend.

The Sunrisers, bottom of the table last season, have been rejuvenated by captain Pat Cummins and coach Daniel Vettori, posting three of the four highest totals in the league stage.

KKR have also produced some batting fireworks, racking up 272-7 against Delhi and 261-6 in a defeat to Punjab, although the departure of opener Phil Salt is a blow to their chances.

Salt has returned home to prepare for England's T20 World Cup bid, breaking up a hugely successful opening alliance with Sunil Narine, who is on track for the greatest all-round season in IPL history.

The 35-year-old has scored 461 runs at a strike-rate of 183 and taken 15 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.63 runs per over and he is 10-1 with Betfair and Paddy Power to be named player of the match.

His fascinating match-ups in each innings against Sunrisers new-ball ace Bhuvneshwar Kumar and middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen could be crucial but Kolkata must be wary of Hyderabad's openers.

Travis Head returns to the ground where he scored a match-winning century for Australia against India in last year's 50-over World Cup final and he has played some sizzling IPL innings this term.

However, Head was out first ball against Punjab on Sunday, when his young opening partner Abhishek Sharma cracked 66 off 28 balls, hitting six sixes.

Abhishek's previous knock was an unbeaten 75 off 28 as the Sunrisers chased down 166 against Lucknow in just 9.4 overs and he looks a tempting price to top-score for his side.

Kolkata have won seven of their last nine games against Hyderabad, including this season's four-run victory at Eden Gardens, but Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz faces a tough test as Salt's replacement. 

He is yet to bat this season, having been frustrated by the rain on Sunday, and his last three T20 international scores were nought, three and six against Ireland in March.

Hyderabad's Bhuvneshwar has taken ten wickets in the powerplay overs this season – two more than any other bowler – so he will fancy his chances of dismissing the dangerous Gurbaz early.

IPL playoff schedule

Tuesday
Qualifier 1 (Ahmedabad): Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

Wednesday
Eliminator (Ahmedabad): Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Friday
Qualifier 2 (Chennai): Qualifier 1 losers vs Eliminator winners

Sunday
Final (Chennai): Qualifier 1 winners vs Qualifier 2 winners

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