IPL Final Preview: SunRisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders

We have arrived at the most-awaited match of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the final, which will be played between the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, May 26.

While the Kolkata-based team managed to secure their spot in the final by beating SRH in Qualifier 1, their opponents had to grind out a result in Qualifier 2 against the Rajasthan Royals. While it has usually been the explosive batters at the top who have dominated for Sunrisers, this time around, their two left-arm orthodox bowlers did the trick on a turning track.

Firstly, Shahbaz Ahmed picked up three wickets while going for 23 runs from his quota of four overs. On the other hand, part-time bowler Abhishek Sharam went for an economy of exactly six and got two wickets from his complete quota.

What does this mean for the final?

A key takeaway from this match is the amount of turn spinners managed to generate, while dew did not come into play. Given the amount of turn that spinners enjoyed in the second innings, captains could decide to go in and put on a handsome total in the first innings and back their bowlers to complete the job after the interval. From a batting perspective, expect the more orthodox or so-called ‘test cricketers’ to come out on top as Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis did for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on a difficult wicket against the Chennai Super Kings

Another key takeaway has to be KKR’s upper hands going into the final, owing to their incredible spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. This certainly gives them an edge over the lesser experienced slow bowlers of SRH.

It also begs the question, does Pat Cummins turn to the leg-spinner, Mayank Markande, who could come in fairly handy on a slowish track? As far as SRH’s team composition is concerned, the only other question that needs to be answered is if Aiden Markram keeps his place after scoring one run in his previous match.

For the Knight Riders, it looks fairly simple, given that Rahmanullah Gurbaz has slotted right in for Phil Salt, who had to leave the IPL due to international commitments. 

Apart from this, expect KKR to field the same team, and they certainly go in as favourties to win their third IPL title.