Kolkata Knight Riders take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The stadium is the largest cricket venue in the world. It is bound to provide the two teams participating with quite an atmosphere.
KKR topped the league table this season and earned their place in this game, while SRH came second. These two teams have been the best in this season of the IPL, and both are favoured in the title race. While KKR's batting order is top-heavy, SRH's appears well-balanced.
KKR will rely upon their openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine. At the same time, SRH know that their skipper Pat Cummins must pull a cat out of the hat to beat their old enemies. SRH lost their first game to KKR by a small margin at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.
Predicted Squads
KKR: Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.
SRH: Travis Head, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan.
Key Players
Shreyas Iyer (KKR): KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer will have a big role to play in this game, even as he tries to come back into the Indian side based on his performance. He must lead from the front by showing with the bat when he walks out to the middle.
Travis Head (SRH): Opener Travis Head, who has taken the IPL by storm this season with his antics, knows that the game has only just begun. Having won the World Cup with Australia last November, Head will also want to win the IPL with SRH and will be keen on batting well in this game.
Match Prediction
SRH have a slight advantage over KKR in this game as they are pretty well-balanced and have a lot of momentum going their way. SRH beat PBKS by a considerable margin in their last league game of the season. KKR were unlucky in having their game against RR washed out in Guwahati.
Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 22.05.2024 Prediction
Rajasthan Royals, who were one of the first teams to qualify for the playoffs of the IPL this season, will be disappointed with the fact that they have to play in the Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 22, Wednesday.
RCB scripted one of the biggest comebacks in the tournament's history when they beat Chennai Super Kings by a considerable margin in their last league game of the season on Saturday, May 18, earning their right to compete in this game against RR.
RR, whose previous game was washed out due to rain in Guwahati, will arrive at this game desperately short of practice. Their winning experience can give them much-needed confidence, which RCB must add to their recent good form.
Predicted Squads
RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj.
Key Players
Sanju Samson (RR): RR wicketkeeper-captain Sanju Samson, one of their brightest spots in the tournament, knows he must be at his best to lead his team to victory. RR last won the IPL in 2008, and Sanju will also be under considerable pressure to take them there this season.
Virat Kohli (RCB): Virat Kohli's form has been one of the biggest advantages for both RCB and India of late. While RCB have benefitted from his batting and qualified for the playoffs, Team India will be pleased that their best batter has hit a purple patch before the T20 World Cup in June.
Match Prediction
RR have a massive advantage over RCB in this game, and one expects them to win comfortably. Although they have fallen on hard times of late, RR are one of the favourites to win the title this season. RCB, despite their recent surge in form, may not be able to keep RR out.