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The Indian Premier League 2024 is in its final stage with the playoff matches starting today. Out of the ten teams only four have made it to the final stage of the tournament as has been the norm since 2011. Out of the four teams competing for the title KKR and SRH will face each other in qualifier one today whereas RR and RCB will face each other in the eliminator scheduled to take place on May 22.
In this blog, we will look at all the important aspects of today’s match between KKR and SRH which will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Kolkata Knight Riders
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The Shreyas Iyer-led side has been the team to beat in the ongoing IPL season so far. KKR finished at the top of the points table and will look to continue the good form in today’s match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. One of the reasons for KKR’s continuous success this season has been their explosive opening partnership with Phil Salt and Sunil Narine giving the team an attacking start at the top of the order which is followed by a flexible middle order that comprises the likes of Andre Rusell, Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer all of whom can be used as a floater.
Important Player’s in today’s match
Sunil Narine
The West Indies bowler has found back his old self which he was known for in the years gone by. Having scored more than 400 runs in the ongoing IPL season Narine has been a vital part of KKR in the batting department. Along with his exploits with the bat, Narine continues to deliver with the ball both in the powerplay and the middle overs and KKR would hope for him to replicate his performance in today’s match against SRH.
Andre Russell
The West Indies all-rounder has been in decent form and has been batting with a strike rate of over 150 in the middle overs which goes up to over 200 in the final five overs of an innings. Along with his batting, Russell has also contributed with the ball by picking up wickets in the limited overs in the limited opportunity that he has got in the tournament so far.
Harshit Rana
Having faced a one-match suspension Harshit Rana has been one of KKR’s leading bowlers in the tournament so far and will look to continue the good work that he has done in today’s playoff match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rana has been lethal with the new ball and has picked up wickets regularly in the first six overs. In addition to his wicket-taking bowling in the powerplay, Harshit has also impressed everyone with his ability to bowl accurate yorkers in death overs which has fetched him crucial wickets and helped his team win some close matches this season which could have gone either way.
Also Read: Sunrisers Hyderabad Reaches Quarterfinals, Abhishek Sharma Hits A Fifty
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Pat Cummins-led side has been in magnificent form since the start of the tournament having won eight out of the 14 games that the team played in the league stage of the tournament. Having said that their opponents have also been in great form as well which is evident from the fact that the team finished at the top of the points table.
Important Players in today’s match
Abhishek Sharma
The left-hand batter has been in magnificent form in the ongoing IPL season and has scored over 400 runs with a strike rate of over 150. Abhishek also holds the record for scoring the fastest half-century this season and has formed a formidable partnership with Australian opener Travis Head at the top of the order. The duo would like to replicate the same in today’s match against KKR as well.
Travis Head
Like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head has also been in lethal form since the start of the 2024 IPL season and holds the record for scoring the fastest century this season. Head has been severe in the powerplay and has scored runs with a strike rate of over 200 in the first six overs of the innings. Having said that the left-hander got without scoring in the last match against Punjab Kings and will be itching to score some runs in today’s match against KKR.
Also Read: Arshdeep Dismisses Travis Head For Golden Duck In SRH Vs PBKS Clash
Pat Cummins
The SRH captain has well and truly led from the front with his excellent leadership skills on the field. The World Cup-winning captain has made significant contributions with both bat and ball. moreso with the ball as he has picked up wickets in the middle overs and has bowled economically at the death with intelligent use of cutters and slower balls. The orange army would hope for Cummins to continue his rich vain of form in today’s match against KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Playing 11
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Probable Playing 11
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and T Natarajan.
Pitch Report for Today’s KKR vs SRH Match
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is known to be a batsman’s paradise. The pitch offers a true surface for clean hitting, allowing batsmen to unleash powerful strokes. However, the vast outfield areas present a challenge, forcing batsmen to take calculated risks. Despite the batting-friendly nature, spinners can still find success by exploiting the large boundaries and extracting some assistance from the pitch.
