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.
Kolkata emerged victorious in the two previous meetings – once through toil and immaculate execution under pressure, and the other with comfort and ease. In the final, however, no such comfort will be expected, for having learned lessons from the past fallacies, Hyderabad will be prepared to be third time lucky.
Ahead of the final, let us have a look at five key player battles which could dictate the outcome of the match:
1. Travis Heas vs Mitchell Starc
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.
The left-arm quick had dismissed the left-handed explosive opener on a duck thrice before IPL 2024 – at the One-Day Cup in October 2025, at the Sheffield Shield in the same month, and at the Sheffield Shield once again in October 2017. Kolkata will be hopeful of a similar outcome, whilst Hyderabad will pray that Head can finally overcome his struggles against Starc.
2. Abhishek Sharma vs Vaibhav Arora
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.
It was the first instance where the right-arm pacer from Himachal Pradesh had dismissed the southpaw from Punjab, but in the four meetings between the pair in IPL, Abhishek has never looked comfortable against 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.
3. Rahul Tripathi vs Andre Russell
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.
Interestingly, the Jamaican all-rounder has always found ways to get the 33-year-old batter’s wickets, having dismissed him on four occasions. Despite Tripathi's impressive strike rate of 169.2 against Russell, his average is only 11, making Russell a key player in Kolkata's strategy to neutralise Tripathi's threat.
4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Sunil Narine
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.
The veteran seamer has managed to stifle Narine on multiple occasions, wherein he has been successful in keeping him quiet, if not getting his wicket. In the 28 deliveries Kumar has bowled to Narine, only 31 runs were scored at an uncharacteristic strike rate of 110.7. He has also dismissed Narine twice, with the batter having an average of only 15.5 against the 34-year-old.
5. T Natarajan vs Venkatesh Iyer
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.
Should Hyderabad manage to have the upper hand against KKR’s top order, they would want to ensure no respite is being given to Iyer, considering he has successfully led the two-time champions’ recovery operations after early collapses.
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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