Sunrisers Hyderabad won only one of their first four games, but a five-match winning streak has lifted them to third with a net run rate of 0.832. Their latest win was a five-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians, chasing 244 in 18.4 overs.
Travis Head struck 76 off 30 balls in that game and Heinrich Klaasen finished unbeaten on 65 off 30. Abhishek Sharma has 425 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 210, and Ishan Kishan has 312 at close to 70, including 16 sixes. Pat Cummins is back as captain, and Eshan Malinga leads the bowlers with 15 wickets at an average of 9.16, helped by Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Harsh Dubey and Shivang Kumar.
Kolkata Knight Riders lost five of their first six but have beaten Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants narrowly to climb to eighth. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has 209 runs at a strike rate of 141, and Rinku Singh has found form with an unbeaten 83 and a 53. Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi have nine wickets each, though expensively, so the spin of Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy may be crucial.
