Chennai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has reached its climactic finale, with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) set to face off for the championship. After 73 action-packed matches featuring nail-biting finishes and a record number of sixes, these two teams have emerged as the top contenders. KKR and SRH are all set to clash on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
KKR, under the guidance of mentor Gautam Gambhir, have been a standout team this season. Their exceptional performance saw them finishing at the top of the group stage standings and securing a dominant win over SRH in Qualifier 1, booking their place in the final. In contrast, SRH had an inconsistent season but showed tremendous grit in the knockout stages, overcoming Rajasthan Royals (RR) to earn their spot in the final match.
This final marks the third meeting between SRH and KKR this season, with KKR emerging victorious in both previous encounters. The first match was a thrilling final-over victory at Eden Gardens, and the second was a more decisive win in Ahmedabad. SRH captain Pat Cummins will be hoping his team can turn the tide in this crucial third encounter.
The final will be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, where these teams last faced off earlier in the season. In that match, KKR defended a total of 187 to win by 10 runs, thanks to impressive half-centuries from Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi. Despite strong performances from Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow, who both scored fifties, SRH fell short, managing 177.
Historically, KKR has had the upper hand over SRH, particularly in playoff scenarios. KKR’s victory in Qualifier 1, where they won by 8 wickets, adds to their confidence as they prepare for their 28th IPL clash against SRH.
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
