That no member of the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup will feature in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 isn’t the best endorsement for the national side’s credentials in the shortest format, but the world’s most competitive franchise tournament will still relish a blockbuster summit clash when pacesetters Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad square off at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
KKR and SRH are at the forefront of a season that has witnessed league and T20 records being rewritten at a frantic pace, matching the manic tempo of run-scoring. The fastest-scoring sides in the tournament, Knight Riders and Sunrisers have struck at 10.70 and 10.30 runs per over, respectively. They have also contributed five totals between them this season to the league’s top-10 highest team scores of all time.
However, on a slow wicket, they will face resistance when it matters most, and adaptability could prove pivotal. Among venues that have hosted at least six games this season, Chepauk has been the least conducive to batting, with 8.58 runs coming every over (lowest) at 28.70 per wicket (second lowest).
With batters scoring at just 7.43 runs an over against spinners at the venue, the tweakers have ruled the roost, as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s 36-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday attests.
The Pat Cummins-led side, which had employed 11 spinners, who yielded only 13 wickets at 11.20 runs an over in the first 14 matches, found match-winners in left-arm tweakers Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma. The duo that had bowled just 24 overs between them this season ahead of Qualifier 2, wrecked Royals’ top and middle-order by scalping five between them.
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The ability to depart from the template it has followed this season and still succeed in a must-win match will hold Hyderabad in good stead. It also had a troubled start with the bat, losing three wickets in the PowerPlay, but Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen weathered the threat posed by Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, who went wicketless, to lead their team to a serviceable 175.
Similarly, Knight Riders also stepped away from their methods in their eight-wicket win against Sunrisers in Qualifier 1 earlier this week. With Mitchell Starc finding his stride late in the tournament, KKR has been the second most expensive bowling unit in the PowerPlay this season, leaking runs at 10.29 per over. But the Aussie pacer delivered under pressure and, with help from Vaibhav Arora, reduced Sunrisers to 45 for four in the first six overs after setting the tone by rearranging Travis Head’s stumps.
After fellow left-arm pacer Trent Boult’s three-wicket spell in the PowerPlay here on Friday, Starc will be smacking his lips at the prospect of an encore.
With world-class spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in its ranks, KKR looks more well-rounded and suited to conditions than its counterpart. Especially during the middle overs, where SRH found it tough to keep the scoreboard ticking against the Royals, KKR, the second most economical side during this phase this season (8.40), will eye a foothold.
“They have been the wicket-takers for our team. They have been spot on in terms of executing their plans. In the middle overs, when they come, they also control the run rate. If they execute their plans well tomorrow, they will come out trumps,” KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said, lauding his spin duo of Narine and Varun.
On the other hand, bereft of a specialist spinner, SRH’s left-armers Abhishek and Shahbaz could be neutralised by a KKR line-up that includes three left-handers (Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh) in the top-six.
The trial by spin in the middle overs proved to be the undoing of the Royals, who lost five wickets for 62 runs in 10 overs after a rollicking start in a straightforward chase, and this phase could dictate terms again.
That seamers Harshit Rana and Andre Russell have also excelled during this phase, picking 18 wickets between them, will add to Sunrisers’ woes. But in Cummins, Jaydev Unadkat and T. Natarajan, Hyderabad will also have a trick up its sleeve with their slower variations on a sluggish pitch.
On match eve, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer hinted that the pitch for the final was a red soil surface, as opposed to the black soil wicket used for Qualifier 2, and speculations about conditions on matchday intensified when a heavy downpour at 5:45 PM local time brought on the covers, drawing the curtains on the finalists’ practice sessions.
A damp day ahead of a finale between two teams in scorching form may not be the only irony in the offing though.
Openers Narine, Head and Abhishek – the engine rooms of KKR and SRH’s thrill-a-minute approach with the bat – only have 70 runs to show for in five innings between them in the playoffs.
Thus, the fate of a battle between two batting powerhouses may eventually hinge on the ability of the bowlers to get a proverbial grip on the conditions.
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