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Having finished in the top two positions in the league stage, and having been the most exciting teams to watch this season, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad will square off in the final of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday (26 May), at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Ahead of the final, let us have a look at five key player battles which could dictate the outcome of the match:
A major reason behind Hyderabad’s lack of a show with the bat in Qualifier 1 was the early departure of Travis Head, who was bowled for a duck by a fellow Australian countrymate and a familiar nemesis – Mitchell Starc.
That match was the first occasion where Head had to face Starc in the IPL, but not the first instance of these two cricketers squaring off. On most occasions where they met in Australian domestic cricket, Starc has had the better of Head.
Both of Hyderabad’s swashbuckling openers struggled to get off the blocks in Qualifier 1. While Head lost his wicket to Starc, his partner-in-crime Abhishek Sharma had no answers to the questions posed by Vaibhav Arora.
Across 20 deliveries faced, he has mustered barely 16 runs at a strike rate of 80, which is in stark contrast to what is usually associated with Abhishek. Moreover, 11 of those 20 deliveries were dot balls.
After a poor start to his IPL 2024 campaign, it seemed that Rahul Tripathi’s tenure in orange was all but over. Yet, when provided with a second opportunity, Tripathi capitalised on it like a quintessential opportunist, delivering impressive knocks in the last couple of matches.
With nearly the entire team found wanting solutions against KKR’s bowlers in Qualifier 1, Tripathi stood firm to score a resilient 35-ball 55, before losing his wicket to an unfortunate run out.
Kolkata would want to see the back of a former knight early in this match, and for that to materialise, they might have to entrust Andre Russell with bowling responsibilities.
Sunil Narine to Sunrisers Hyderabad will be what Travis Head is to Kolkata Knight Riders – if you don't send him packing early, be ready to witness pyrotechnics. Against the in-form opener, who is only 18 runs shy of reaching the 500-run milestone, Hyderabad’s best bet will be Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Kolkata made light work of the 160-run chase in Qualifier 1, courtesy of a blistering 28-ball 51 from Venkatesh Iyer. The all-rounder has had a commendable season with the bat, where he has scored 318 runs at a strike rate of 153.62.
For this particular task, Hyderabad will pin their hopes on their leading wicket-taker this season – T Natarajan. The left-arm seamer has dismissed Iyer twice, with the Madhya Pradesh cricketer having an average of only 9.5 against the bowler from Tamil Nadu.
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