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THE TIMES OF INDIA | May 26, 2024, 14:20:19 IST
KKR vs SRH IPL Final Live Score: Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins will need a spectacular turnaround to secure another major title on Sunday, when his Sunrisers Hyderabad face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League final only five days after a heavy loss. Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in the last qualifier in Chennai on Friday to secure a place in their third IPL final. But that win came after a crushing eight-wicket defeat by two-time champions Kolkata in the first play-off in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Hyderabad's only title in the world's most lucrative T20 tournament came in 2016 under another Australian, David Warner. Fast bowler Cummins, for whom Hyderabad paid Rs 20.50 crore in the IPL auction, led Australia to both the world Test championship title and an ODI World Cup triumph last year. Hyderabad have racked up record IPL totals of 277 and 287 in a high-scoring tournament, with Cummins' astute leadership and rotation of bowlers also an advantage when defending totals. Standing in Cummins' way will be fellow Australian and Kolkata quick Mitchell Starc, who rattled Hyderabad's top order in the first qualifier and who became the most expensive player in IPL history when Kolkata paid Rs 24.75 crore for his services, overtaking Cummins in the same auction in December. Starc justified the outlay when he returned figures of 3-34 on Tuesday, including bowling fellow Australian and Hyderabad opener Travis Head for a duck. Kolkata, led by Shreyas Iyer, have been the side to beat in the competition and topped the 10-team table with 20 points in the league phase. Apart from the big signing of Starc, Kolkata brought Gautam Gambhir on board as mentor after the former India batsman led the team to two titles in 2012 and 2014. Kolkata beat home side Chennai Super Kings to lift their first title the last time they played a final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in 2012.
ROAD TO THE FINALS
IPL Live: Team India head coach?
IPL Live: Obviously a bigger perk in Indian head coach's assignment awaits Gambhir and a trophy would not only burnish his credentials but also raise the demand to have him in that Indian dressing room
IPL Live Score: IPL trophy as captain and mentor
IPL Live Score: Gambhir went on to win another title in 2014, which made him a sentimental favourite and now he is on the cusp of becoming the man, who as captain and mentor has won the IPL trophy for the same team
IPL Final Live: KKR victorious in 2012
IPL Final Live: The last time KKR played an IPL final in Chennai, it was against Chennai Super Kings in 2012 in one of the most epic contests, which established Gambhir's credentials as an astute leader of men as he not only had the right game plan but also had his heart in the right place during those heady years
KKR vs SRH Live Score: Qualifier 1
KKR vs SRH Live Score: The two teams met in the first qualifier in which KKR outwitted SRH with clever bowling plans on a massive Motera ground and in Chennai, Iyer's men will again start as favourites
FACE-OFF
IPL Live: SRH captain Pat Cummins
IPL Live: A decade ago, no one would have placed a bet on Cummins being a captain and winning the ODI World Cup, World Test Championship and Ashes in a space of six months, and now, leading SRH to their maiden IPL title would be the icing on the cake
IPL Live Score: KKR captain Shreyas Iyer
IPL Live Score: Somewhere along the line, KKR's Shreyas Iyer, who is playing his second final as captain, has turned into bit of a side-show as a global cricketing royalty in Cummins faces an IPL czar in Gambhir
IPL Final Live: Mega IPL final
IPL Final Live: Marquee sporting clashes always pit one leader against another but this IPL final will be about Gambhir's brain, which is always ticking against a captain who has transcended boundaries to turn into a leader of men
KKR vs SRH Live Score: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
KKR vs SRH Live Score: Tactician par excellence Gautam Gambhir couldn't have envisaged a battle of brains with a more different kind of adversary than the smiling yet ruthless Pat Cummins as Kolkata Knight Riders face a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad in a mega IPL final in Chennai
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