Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to come through the second qualifier and reach the final to get another shot at knocking over the Kolkata Knight Riders. James Richardson previews the IPL final.
KKR are chasing a third IPL title while SRH would take home the trophy for a second time should they come out on top in Chennai on Sunday.
While the Knight Riders got the win in their Qualifier 1 encounter, SRH have the advantage of having played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in their second go at reaching the final.
To Win Match
Knight Riders 81/100 | Tie 25/1 | Sunrisers 21/20
KKR reached the final off the back of great efforts from the Iyers, Shreyas and Venkatesh who made the impact that was needed with the bat when they chased down a modest score from SRH.
There will be some questions about KKR’s ability to haul in a big score if the big hitters from SRH get going and it seems likely that the Knight Riders will choose to chase if they win the toss.
Mitchell Starc showed how lethal he can be early on in the first qualifier and continues to have some hold over Travis Head when they are forced to face off.
Varun Chakaravarthy might be taken out of the game to some extent if the dew factor comes into play for KKR which is another reason they would prefer to be in the field to start.
SRH might well consider batting first again if they win the toss in the IPL final but this might end up really being a good toss to lose.
The Sunrisers have shown that they do well when they have the runs on the board and seem to really explode when they don’t have a fixed target to chase.
Head got a first-baller against KKR but he will want to respond in a big way for this team to sign off with a big win.
Heinrich Klaasen can do some serious damage if the team he is facing aren’t precise with the ball and SRH would do well to give him as much time as possible to do damage.
Verdict: Sunrisers Hyderabad 21/20
The Sunrisers Hyderabad can get the jump on KKR with explosive batting and an experienced pace attack
