Kolkata: After a close to perfect 2024 IPL season, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) find themselves just one win away from clinching their third IPL trophy.
The long wait of 10 years can come to an end in Chennai on Sunday, as KKR clashes against SRH in the Final of IPL 2024. Two of the best sides of the tournament will battle in the heat of Chepauk to claim supremacy and ultimate glory - the IPL Trophy.
KKR have been able to come out on top both the times they’ve clashed against SRH this year. A thriller in Kolkata and a dominant win in Ahmedabad in the Qualifier 1 puts KKR ahead of the Sunrisers in the terms of momentum and positive headspace. The Knights will be aiming to make it three consecutive wins in a row against SRH this year and lift the trophy on Sunday night.
KKR have had many sweet memories at the Chepauk Stadium, where they won their first-ever IPL title back in 2012. 12 years apart, KKR are still a team whose composition suits the Chennai pitch. Spin To Win is definitely the mantra when it comes to winning games in Chepauk and KKR have high-quality spinners in their lineup and more importantly they have batters who can play spin extremely well.
However, this year the Chennai pitch has offered a unique variety where sometimes it has been a belter of a pitch to bat on with a lot of dew. At the fag end of the season one should expect a slowish pitch but there could be a couple of surprises in the finals when it comes to this Chepauk pitch.
When it comes to playing spin, there is probably none better than the KKR Skipper Shreyas Iyer and the Knight Riders will need their captain to stand up for them on a pitch which will ideally suit the spinners. If there is one person who you want out there playing against spin it has to be Shreyas Iyer and his counter-attacking skills against the SRH spinners will be of the utmost importance.
On the other hand, KKR missed Nitish Rana this year, especially in their league stage match against CSK. Another superb player of spin who last time around led KKR to victory on the same ground by playing a terrific innings. Thus, KKR will need their Skipper-Vice Skipper Duo to shine to help them clinch the title.
Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have stood up for KKR this season in ways no one would have imagined. Just before the season there were many critics of them being retained by KKR and they have answered them with incredible performances. Both have done significantly well with bat and ball, to add the X-factor into the lineup. KKR will need both Narine and Russell to stand up in the big final and do what they always do - Win Matches for KKR.
Right since he came back to KKR, Gautam Gambhir’s strategic calls have been of immense value for KKR’s rise this season. His partnership alongside captain Shreyas Iyer has driven KKR to become an unstoppable unit. Be it putting the belief back in Narine the opener or backing the young talents like Ramandeep, Harshit, Vaibhav etc, GG hasn’t put a step wrong all season. Just one more important step and the 3rd IPL trophy will come home to KKR.
With that being said, KKR will be backing themselves to go to the Chepauk Stadium and lift their 3rd IPL trophy and win the title after a 10-year long wait. All season long, they’ve played excellent cricket and the team will be hoping to replicate another strong performance filled with vigour, passion and determination to help them achieve the ultimate glory.
