It’s time for the final showdown in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) cross swords in the summit clash. The final will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday (May 26).
Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad have played brilliant cricket throughout the tournament and it is no surprise that they are the runners-up. While KKR was the dominant team in the league phase, SRH managed to seal the second place in the points table with their late attack.
KKR and SRH have faced each other twice in the ongoing IPL 2024. In the league match between the teams, the Shreyas Iyer-led team won the game by just 4 runs as the game progressed and overcame in the last over of the match. After that, the two teams played Qualifier 1, in which Kolkata Knight Riders dominated the opposition and won the game by 8 wickets.
The head-to-head record between KKR and SRH is completely in favor of the Kolkata Knight Riders. They have won 18 games out of 27 matches between the teams, while SRH emerged victorious in only 9 games.
Both KKR and SRH will head into the IPL 2024 final on a high. While Kolkata Knight Riders in their last game defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Pat Cummins-led team defeated Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 of the tournament at the same venue where the final will be held.
It will be the best against the best, as both teams have been absolutely brilliant in the tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders won two titles in 2012 and 2014 and are now hoping to add another to their kit. On the other hand, SRH won their only title in 2016 and would be eager for glory under Pat Cummins.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first in the game against KKR. He talked about the conditions and stated that it was an opportunity for them to have another good game and he hoped things would go the way he wanted. As he spoke at the draw, he explained:
“We will bat first. Looks like a good ground, played on another ground the other night. There was no dew in the other night’s game, but when it does, it’s very damaging. We had dew the other night, I don’t think there will be dew today, first I want to break with the bat. We have a style that doesn’t always work, but when it does, it is very damaging. We have done well defending the scores. More or less the same, Shahbaz replaces Samad.”
On the other hand, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer stated that they wanted to play first because they have done well as chasers. He also stressed the importance of staying in the present. He stated:
“Had we bowled, we will have a clear idea of how the pitch will develop. It is a red ground and we played our last game on a similar surface. We need to stay in the present, stick to the basics and execute all our plans. Everyone assumes responsibility for themselves, this is a great match, we have many people who are playing in a final for the first time, nervous, but it is also a good opportunity. “We are going with the same team.”
KKR vs SRH: Impact Players
kkr: KS Bharat, Nitish Rana, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Anukul Roy
SSR: Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik
KKR vs SRH: Playing XI
Riders of the Knights of Calcutta (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Sunrise Hyderabad (Playing XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan