KKR finished the league stage on the top of the points table with nine wins, three losses and two no results, giving them 20 points
Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer (Pic: AFP)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), two of the biggest trailblazers of the ongoing IPL 2024, will be taking on the title clash at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
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KKR finished the league stage on the top of the points table with nine wins, three losses and two no results, giving them 20 points. They earned a direct spot in the final by defeating SRH in the qualifier one. SRH got a second shot at the title in the qualifier two against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and they made the most of it by defeating the Men in Pink by 36 runs.
Both teams have been incredible with the bat in IPL 2024. KKR and SRH have posted six 200-plus totals this season, the most by any team. SRH has crossed the 250-run mark thrice, also making the highest IPL total over, 287/3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) while the KKR has done it twice. When the tournament is all said and done, it will be looked as something game-changing, something that could bring a paradigm shift to the way T20s are played and the credit will go to these two teams.
It is a battle between two leaders, one seeking redemption and the other just aiming to solidify his legacy as an all-time great by pocketing another big championship. Shreyas Iyer, having lost his BCCI central contract after an all-time great campaign at the ICC Cricket World Cup last year and having got his red-ball commitments questioned amid fitness and form troubles, will make a huge statement if he guides KKR to their third title and first in 10 years. Iyer's men are boosted by the return of their former skipper Gautam Gambhir, who now aims to win a title with the team as a mentor after getting two as captain back in 2012 and 2014.
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On the other side is Pat Cummins, a captain who lifted SRH from inconsistency, dullness, and poor home outings that defined their last two seasons or so. Having won the ICC World Test Championship, and ICC Cricket World Cup, retained the Ashes series with Australia, an IPL title will add a lot to his legacy as a leader. With a T20 World Cup already under his belt as a player, Cummins could truly call himself the 'world conqueror' if he secures the biggest T20 franchise league in this world.
During the final, two heavyweight batting sides will collide. Though KKR will miss Phil Salt due to his international commitments for England, Sunil Narine (482 runs), Shreyas Iyer (345 runs), Venkatesh Iyer (318 runs) are destructive on their day at the top and middle slots. KKR also has a piece of well-oiled finishing machinery, filled with heavy hitters like Andre Russell (222 runs), Ramandeep Singh (125 runs) and Rinku Singh (168 runs). On the other side is the SRH's six-hitting opening duo of Travis Head (567 runs) and Abhishek Sharma (482 runs). The supporting cast for this duo is Heinrich Klaasen (463 runs), Nitish Kumar Reddy (290 runs), Rahul Tripathi (156 runs), Abdul Samad (178 runs), all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (207 runs), who are all capable of being the main characters in themselves on a given day, thanks to their international experience and power-hitting prowess. These few individuals are no doubt, to be spoken highly when T20 cricket experiences its next wave of change.
Another big battle will be between two Aussie superstars, Cummins and Mitchell Starc, two big buy fast bowlers who were purchased for 20.50 Crore Rs and 24.75 crore Rs. While one has proved his price tag with his fierce captaincy, a total of 17 wickets and some important cameos with the bat, the latter struggled and had some expensive spells with the ball before the 'Big Match Starc' turned up in the qualifier one with a three wicket haul. Which Aussie prevails, will be interesting to see.
Both teams have their own strengths in bowling. While the pace battery of KKR consisting of Starc, youngsters Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora and Russell have done marvelouslly, it is their spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy (20 wickets) and Narine (16 wickets) that has been more dominant, restricting the run of flow everywhere they go. They will be an interesting in a match-up against spin-hitters like Head, Abhishek and Klaasen. On the other side is the pace attack of Orange Army, consisting of likes of Cummins, experience Indian swing specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar (11 wickets), yorker macine T Natrajan (19 wickets) and domestic veteran Jaydev Unadkat (eight wickets). Spin bowling of Abhishek, Aiden Markram and Shahbaz is a plus for SRH.
Irrespective of who comes out on top, the cricket fans and the sport itself will win, fortunate enough to witness what could the final game of a game-changing IPL.
SRH vs KKR live updates: Full squads
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Jaydev Unadkat, Shahbaz Ahmed, Umran Malik, Sanvir Singh, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Markande, Mayank Agarwal, Washington Sundar, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, Srikar Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford, Dushmantha Chameera, Chetan Sakariya, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sakib Hussain, Suyash Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar
SRH vs KKR live updates: Dream11 prediction
Wicketkeepers: Heinrich Klaasen
Batsmen: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer
All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine (c)
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, T. Natarajan (vc), Varun Chakaravarthy
SRH vs KKR live updates: Toss update
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders. The Hyderabad side made one change from the last match, bringing in Shahbaz Ahmed in place of Abdul Samad, while KKR retained their eleven from the Qualifier 1. KKR have earlier won the title two times, while SRH are seeking their second IPL trophy.
SRH vs KKR live updates: Confirmed playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (w), Shahbaz Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
10: 25 PM: KKR: 114/2 (10.3)
Venkatesh Iyer hits the winning runs and Kolkata Knight Riders win the Indian Premier League 2024.
10: 22 PM: KKR: 111/2 (10)
Shahbaz Ahmed removes the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaaz. Shreyas Iyer joins Venkatesh in the run chase.
10: 12 PM: KKR: 93/1 (8)
Kolkata is in total control of the game. Venkatesh-Gurbaz takes KKR to 93 runs after 8 overs.
10: 02 PM: KKR: 72/1 (6)
Venkatesh Iyer continues his aggressive approach. Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the other hand, continues to rotate the strike. The duo completed a 50-run stand.
9: 50 PM: KKR: 46/1 (4)
Venkatesh Iyer strikes three consecutive boundaries in Bhuvnesh Kumar's over. The Knights are now on 46 runs after 4 overs.
9: 38 PM: KKR: 17/1 (2)
Kolkata Knight Riders lose the wicket of star all-rounder Sunil Narine. Pat Cummins registers the first wicket for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
9: 12 PM: SRH: 113/10 (18.3)
Skipper Pat Cummins departs on the score of 24 runs and with this, Sunrisers Hyderabad are bowled out for 113 runs. Kolkata Knight Riders now need to chase 114 runs to win the IPL 2024 title.
9:06 PM: 108/8 (17 overs)
8:54 PM: 98/8 (16 overs)
8:49 PM: 90/8 (14.1 overs)
8:43 PM: 82/7 (13 Overs)
Shahbaz Ahmed departs as Sunil Narine completes an easy catch. KKR are on a roll at the moment cruising to their third IPL title as SRH pin hopes on Klaasen.
8:35 PM: 62/5 (10.2 Overs)
KKR are all over Sunrisers Hyderabad tonight as Aiden Markram departs and SRH are now five down under 10 overs. Russell comes in next and takes a wicket straight away.
8:25 PM: 58/4 (9 overs)
8:18 PM: 47/4 (7 overs)
Another one bites the dust. SRH have lost four wickets now, following a sensational delivery from Harshit Rana. He pitched it full and made it swing from there. The ball swung away from Nitish Reddy and took the outside edge of his bat. Rahmanullah Gurbaz took the catch.
8:08 PM: 45/3 (6.2 Overs)
KKR losing grip with a steady partnership so far between Markram and Reddy. Rahul Tripathi has also walked back to the pavilion losing his wicket to Mitchell Starc.
7:59 PM: 21/2 (4.1 Overs)
SRH batters are struggling to find rhythm at the moment. KKR continues to remain in control. Tripathi and Markram have to soak in tremendous pressure tonight.
7:41 PM: 6/2 (2 overs)
Sunrisers Hyderabad lose their openers cheaply in the final and KKR are on a roll at the moment. Aiden Markram and Rahul Tripathi in the middle for SRH now.
7:30 PM: Match begins!
Mitchell Starc takes the new ball for KKR. It is the usual pair Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head for SRH.
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