KKR vs SRH. (Source -IPL/BCCI)
The final of IPL 2024 will be a repeat fixture of Qualifier 1 as Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns again. However, this time, the game is at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the venue of the Qualifier 2.
In the second qualifier, Sunrisers Hyderabad staged a comeback over the Rajasthan Royals. RR exploited the early movement and SRH had lost as many as three wickets in the powerplay depite a counterattack from Rahul Tripathi. After some great powerplay bowling from Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan continued to attack with the ball in the middle and death overs but a spirited fifty from Heinrich Klaasen put SRH in a fighting position.
In the chase, RR started strongly in the powerplay with Yashasvi Jaiswal at his attacking best. But his stay was cut short by Shahbaz Ahmed, who along with fellow left arm spinner Abhishek Sharma, completely derailed RR’s chase in the middle overs, exploiting the help from the surface in the absence of dew. Dhruv Jurel showed fight with an excellent fifty but the damage had been done as SRH made their third IPL final.
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SRH were subjected to a one-sided defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the first qualifier at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Their innings could not take off even though Tripathi tried to pull it back with an excellent fifty as a barrage of testing deliveries by Mitchell Starc in the powerplay saw SRH lose four wickets in the powerplay, Klaasen also tried to put up a fight but after he and Tripathi were dismissed, things turned bleak for SRH.
SRH managed to put up a respectable total as Pat Cummins and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth managed the second-highest partnership for the 10th wicket in IPL history. KKR also started poorly but fifties from both Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer made sure that KKR made into their fourth final.
MA Chidambaram Stadium Pitch Report:
In the ssecond qualifier, the most striking feature of the surface was the absence of dew in the second innings and a pitch that got drier as the game progressed. This allowed spinners to come into the game and run away as Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma made merry. With the final being played in less than 48 hours, the conditions may not change much.
IPL Stats & Records at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
SRH’s rout of RR in Qualifier 2 took the number of matches won batting first at this stadium to 49 in 84 IPL matches. The average first innings total is 165.
| Matches Played | 84 |
| Matches Won Batting First | 49 |
| Matches Won Batting Second | 35 |
| Matches Won Winning Toss | 42 |
| Matches Won Losing Toss | 42 |
| Matches With No Result | 0 |
| Highest Team Total | 246/5 |
| Lowest Team Total | 70 |
| Average First Innings Total | 165 |
| Highest Total Successfully Chased | 211 |
KKR vs SRH Strategies & Match-ups:
SRH were found wanting against the swing generated by Trent Boult in Qualifier 2. They will now have to be wary of Mitchell Starc who wrecked them in Qualifier 1. And to compund their trouble, KKR’s spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy will enjoy bowling on the dry surface. KKR bowlers will hold all the cards just like they did in the last meeting between these two teams.
SRH though, seem to have found a new lease of life in their spinners. Meanwhile, the toss becomes very crucial once again. The important match ups for this game will be Travis Head vs Mitchell Starc, Abhishek Sharma vs Harshit Rana, Heinrich Klaasen vs Sunil Narine, Sunil Narine vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shreyas Iyer vs Pat Cummins, Venkatesh Iyer vs Shahbaz Ahmed.
Player Battles to Watch Out For:
Travis Head vs Mitchell Starc:
Travis Head had recorded a two-ball duck against Starc in the first qualifier. Head will be gunning to settle the score while Starc will want to keep Head’s recent lean patch going.
Shreyas Iyer vs Pat Cummins:
The clash of skipper promises to be an exciting one, Shreyas Iyer has scored 33 runs against Cummins in just 17 balls, a strike rate of 194.11, without ever being dismissed. Iyer will look to build on his fifty in the first qualifier.
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Sunil Narine vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar:
Narine has been assaulting bowling attacks all through the season, but Bhuvneshwar is one of the few bowlers who have managed to keep him quiet. Narine has scored just 31 runs in 28 balls against Bhuvneshwar at a strike rate of 110.71 for two dismissals.
X-Factors for KKR vs SRH:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Narine has been the most consistent KKR player this season with both bat and ball. He is also on the verge of doing something no player has ever done – the double of 500 runs and 15 wickets in a single edition of a T20 tournament. KKR will count on him to deliver on both the fronts after a sedate outing in the last match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad:
Abhishek Sharma showed that he can be an asset with the ball as well in the last match. With SRH struggling in the powerplay in the last two matches, he will need to step up and give his team the edge.