As we build up to the Grand Finale of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad, we look at where the match could possibly be won or lost and there are a few scenarios at that.
The IPL 2024 has been a run feast like never before and Sunrisers Hyderabad have been at the forefront of that trend ratcheting up scores in excess of 250 on couple of occasions.
The Sunrisers' mantle has been led by the irrepressible Travis Head and the free-flowing Abhishek Sharma, who are No 4 and No 10 in the top-10 runscorers in this IPL.
Head has racked up 567 runs at an average of 43.61 and a supremely healthy strike rate of 192.20 while his opening partner Sharma has piled up 482 runs at an average of 34.42 and an even greater strike rate of 207.75.
The top two totals in the IPL 2024 is owned by SRH as they blasted the highest ever IPL team total of 287 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the cavernous Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The second highest total was against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad when they struck 277.
Head had played pivotal roles in both these games as he had slammed a magnificent hundred in the former against RCB while cracking a crucial 68 against MI.
Therefore, the opening combination of Head and Sharma and the powerplay of six overs will be all important as far as Sunrisers Hyderabad are concerned.
Their best best against the Knight Riders is to completely dominate the powerplay as Head and Sharma had done in some of these games where they struck 250-plus totals.
Although, it's easier said than done and especially with the final being played at the Chepauk with something in it for the spinners and run-making not as fluent as at other IPL venues, SRH will have their task cut out.
However, Head and Sharma hold the key up the order and Heinrich Klaasen's brilliance along with Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Kumar Reddy's contributions would be vital too.
On the bowling front, skipper Pat Cummins holds all the aces and his bowling straps would be critical to how SRH deal with the marauding KKR batters be it Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer or the ruthless Andre Russell.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's discipline with line and length and T Natarajan's stump-to-stump bowling prowess and the role of the spinners Shahbaz Ahmed, Aiden Markram and Sharma would be important cogs in the wheel for the team chasing their second IPL crown in their third summit clash as Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The most potent threat that for SRH would be the dangerous Mitchell Starc operating with the new ball. The way Starc ripped through Head's defences with an unplayable yorker in the Qualifier I is something Head and the rest of the Sunrisers' batters need to watch out for.
How the likes of Head, Sharma, Tripathi and Klaasen deal with the Starc threat in his four overs would be the most crucial passage of play determining the fortunes of SRH and their chances of clinching the title.
