IPL 2024 – The Final: KKR vs SRH Match Preview, Playing XI, Players to Watch, Key Stats
KKR and SRH will meat for the third time in IPL 2024
After 73 exciting matches between 10 teams, we are in for the final battle of IPL 2024, and it’s between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 26th May, Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders topped the points table, won the qualifier 1 against SRH, and are now in the final. This season, KKR has won 10 matches out of 15, and 2 of their matches were washed out.
Sunrisers Hyderabad finished the league stage at the second position in the points table, and after losing qualifier 1, they beat RR in the qualifier 2 and have reached the final. This season, they have won 9 matches out of 15, and one match was washed out.
Match Details:
- Date: 26 May 2024
- Time: 7:30 PM IST
- Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium
KKR will consider bringing in Anukul Roy in the XI; he could replace Vaibhav Arora. Anukul’s left-arm spin alongside Narine and Varun will be great weapons, as we have seen how the SRH left-arm spinners were turning the ball against the RR batters.
SRH could go with an extra spinner for the final by dropping Abdul Samad; they will bring in Washington Sundar, considering KKR have 4 lefties in the XI. They will also be expecting early wickets from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has failed in both playoff matches so far.
KKR vs SRH Probable Playing XI:
KKR Probable Playing XI:
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
- Sunil Narine
- Nitish Rana
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Shreyas Iyer (c)
- Rinku Singh
- Andre Russell
- Ramandeep Singh
- Mitchell Starc
- Harshit Rana
- Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact Player – Vaibhav Arora/Anukul Roy
SRH Probable Playing XI:
- Abhishek Sharma
- Nitish Reddy
- Rahul Tripathi
- Aiden Markram
- Heinrich Klaasen (wk)
- Washington Sundar
- Shahbaz Ahmed
- Pat Cummins (c)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Jaydev Unadkat
- T Natarajan
Impact Player – Travis Head
Key Batters to Watch for KKR vs SRH:
Rahul Tripathi
This will be Rahul Tripathi’s second IPL Final; he first played for RPSG in 2017, then missed out in 2021 for KKR, but this time he gets an opportunity against the KKR. Tripathi struggled for form early in the season, but he is hitting the ball really well since SRH’s match against PBKS. He is a really good player of spin, and that makes him a key batter of the final.
Shreyas Iyer
There were a lot of questions over Shreyas’s form, strike rate, and his T20 gameplay, but he decided to answer them in style at Ahmedabad in the qualifier 1, where he smashed a 23-ball fifty. KKR will again expect a great knock from their skipper. Shreyas is someone who plays and bashes the spinners.
Key Bowlers to Watch for KKR vs SRH:
Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine has taken 16 wickets this season at an economy rate of just 6.9 runs per over. Narine in the final against Klassen in the middle overs is going to be the battle to watch out for, and against Tripathi too, KKR will back him more because Varun has struggled against Tripathi in the past, but Narine can be trusted against him.
Pat Cummins
SRH have won the qualifier 2 because of their spinners, but in the final, they will need their captain to step up with the ball. His returns in the last two matches have been concerning, but Australians are always known to come good in the knockout matches. Pat Cummins this season has taken 17 wickets from 15 matches at an economy rate of 9.2 runs per over.
