Kolkata-Prediction (1)

0:

The race for play-offs in the Indian T20 League is getting more and more exciting and things are going to get extremely tricky on Sunday. Hyderabad, who have already been eliminated, will have a chance to become party-spoilers when they meet Kolkata who will be desperate for a win. With so many teams hoping for a Hyderabad victory, let us have a look at few factors to determine who could actually have an edge going into the match:

1. Head-to-head record

In the 20 meetings between the two sides, it's Kolkata who have dominated the fixture over the years with 13 wins to their name. Going by the recent record, it's the Men in Purple once again who have had the edge having won the last 3 matches played between Kolkata and Hyderabad.

2. UAE factor

With the pitches in UAE slowing down with every passing match, the role of spinners have become quite crucial in recent matches. While Hyderabad have one of the best T20 spinners within their ranks in form of Rashid Khan, he is often the lone warrior for the Orange Army. On the other hand, Kolkata have two in-form mystery spinners in Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy which gives them the upper hand in these conditions.

3. Form of players

Although both the sides are coming to this match on the back of defeats, there is no doubt that Kolkata have the more in-form players in their side with Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana consistently among runs in last few games.

Considering the factors mentioned above, the team of the day is Kolkata.