26th May IPL 2024 Final Preview: KKR vs RR
The winner of IPL 2024 will be crowned on Sunday, in what promises to be an exciting final contested by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. It will be the third H2H between the two this campaign, having faced off in their respective season openers, and in Qualifier 1. Both games were won by KKR, but this is the all-important fixture, and SRH will look to get revenge in Chepauk to add to their current trophy cabinet consisting of a single IPL title won back in 2016. You would have to go further back to find the last time KKR won the IPL – the trophy has evaded them for a decade.
It has been a tournament of high-scoring and hard-hitting. Batsmen have adopted a bold playing style, and previously-thought high scores have become the new norm. Before IPL 2024, an innings score of 260+ runs had only been achieved once – by RCB in 2023. This season, 260+ runs have been scored in 7 separate innings! KKR are responsible for two of those, having scored 261 runs against Punjab Kings, and 272 against Delhi Capitals. Runs might be few and far between at Chennai on Sunday – it’s a venue that has generally favoured the bowlers, but SRH will have the advantage having just played Qualifier 2 in the same stadium.
Pick 1: Narine O0.5 Wickets + SRH Boundary in the 1st Over (1.9, bet365)
Pick 2: Harshit Rana O0.5 Wickets + SRH O6.5 Runs in the 1st Over (2.15, bet365)
Long(er) shot @ 2/1
Predicted Line-ups
SRH were expected to bring in an additional spinner to utilise the conditions in Chepauk, although the solution used was perhaps surprising – opening batsmen Abhishek Sharma bowled his full four over quota with notable figures of 2-24. Considering he had bowled just 3 overs prior in the campaign, SRH may have just uncovered a hidden gem, and could deploy him in a similar role we have seen from Narine. Shahbaz Ahmed had similarly impressive figures of 3-23 from 4 overs. Because of the success of the spinners, Bhuvneshwar and Natarajan only bowled three overs each – SRH shouldn’t adjust too much from Qualifier 2.
KKR have been in imperious form, and have no reason to make any changes from the side that beat SRH in Qualifier 1.
🔴SRH: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Tripathi, Markram, Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Cummins, Unadkat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Natarjan
🟣KKR: Narine, Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Nitesh Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Starc, Harshit Rana, Chakravathy, Vaibhav Arora
Pick 1: Narine O0.5 Wickets + SRH Boundary in the 1st Over (1.9, bet365)
Narine has taken a wicket in 13/13 games so far – he’s been the most important player in Kolkata this campaign based on his contributions with the bat and ball. As a bowler, he’s been incredibly economical, conceding an average of just 6.9 runs per over from his 51 overs bowled so far. The Chennai conditions could be extremely favourable for Narine, generally Chepauk has treated the spinners well. The West Indian took one wicket against Chennai here this season, despite KKR as a team taking just three. Given a wicket has landed in both H2H games against SRH too, I really like the price for Narine to dismiss another batsmen.
Starc may have got the better of Travis Head in Qualifier 1, but the approach shouldn’t change from SRH. They will attack from ball one, even if wickets fall. SRH swinging hard against the pace of Starc, especially in the powerplay with fielders in the circle is a recipe for boundaries – we just need the batsman to connect with one shot. Travis Head has been slightly unconvincing in recent games, but he’s got the quality to take advantage of Starc.
Pick 2: Harshit Rana O0.5 Wickets + SRH O6.5 Runs in the 1st Over (2.15, bet365)
Harshit Rana did not play at Chennai this season, he was ruled out of that game with an injury – but he has the toolkit to exploit the slow surface. He got a wicket in both H2H games against SRH this season, including one wicket in Qualifier 1. That was even despite extremely poor gamestate. He was introduced just after the powerplay, when SRH had lost four wickets and were looking to rebuild. Because of that, few risks were taken against Rana, and he didn’t manage an early wicket. His variations are his strength, and justifies why he bowls at the death. He is used primarily as a wicket-tacker, and has a wicket in 8/10 games so far in IPL 2024.
The first over we will get to see both Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head – the two highest scorers for SRH this season, and it’s inevitable they will start aggressive. Again, Starc’s pace is a recipe for entertainment – whether that be boundaries or wickets exactly as we saw last H2H between these two.
Long(er) shot @ 2/1
Building on the previous selection, in a better gamestate I fancy Harshit Rana to find some success on this surface. Ideally, you want to target frontline bowlers against SRH for wickets, given how aggressive the top 4 play. They actively give opponents chances to claim their wicket with how attacking they play. If SRH can stand a bit more resolute in the Powerplay, there should be plenty of opportunity for Harshit Rana to capitalise on aggression.
- Harshit Rana 2+ Wickets @ 3.0
The data looks fantastic too, Rana has 2+ wickets in 7/10 this season, including 3 wickets in the first H2H at the start of the season. As mentioned, he took 1 wicket in Qualifier 1 in terrible gamestate, so hopefully something different is on the cards.
Thanks for reading, and best of luck if tailing!
If you’re a fan of the content, consider becoming a member!
