Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) know a thing or two about beating one of the most consistent teams of this IPL edition, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). KKR have edged out the 'orange army' with ease in their two previous league stage encounters and the spin heavy Gambhir-led outfit will again fancy their chances as the Eliminator against SRH will be played at a traditionally spin friendly Feroz Shah Kotla wicket in New Delhi.

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Hyderabad on the other hand haven't relied heavily on their premier spinner, Karn Sharma but when three pacers of a team combine to pick up 46 wickets, you can't really blame the captain for not depending on anyone else. Yes, that's the kind of destruction the pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran have had on opposition. They have dismantled any and every batting order all over India.

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Opening combinations of the both the sides can play a big role in determining the winner of the contest. Gambhir has been amongst runs but his partner Robin Uthappa has failed in the past few matches. SRH skipper David Warner is the batting mainstay of his team shouldering maximum burden and although his top-order mate Shikhar Dhawan has scored more than 400 runs, a combined effort is the need of the hour.

The biggest advantage of KKR is their middle-order. Led by the ever so consistent Yusuf Pathan, the likes of Manish Pandey, Surya Kumar Yadav and Shakib al Hasan have performed at crunch situations. Hyderabad have been vulnerable in that department and if KKR can get through the top two, then they can put immense pressure on the rest.

The 'X' factor in this tie can be Yuvraj Singh, who hasn't clicked that often but if he can replicate the match-winning knock which he played against Kings XI Punjab, then VVS Laxman and Tom Moody will be the happiest people in the dugout.

However, given the nature of the pitch, momentum of the teams and the resources available to them, KKR do start as favourites.

Chances of victory

KKR - 70%   SRH - 30%

Predictions by Argha Bhattacharya, Production by Sai Nidhi.