The final of the Indian Premier League will be determined on Friday afternoon when the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Sunrisers Hyderabad do battle in Qualifier 2 which is effectively the second semi-final at Eden Gardens.
The Knight Riders have plenty in their favour here. They won last time out and they are playing on their home ground whereas the Sunrisers need to snap a losing run if they are to take their place in the final.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad arrive in this match with little form whatsoever having lost their last four matches. While finishing top of the pile in the regular season gave them a second chance to make this final they would not have been wanting to need it. They do though and now they have to embrace that fact.
For much of the first qualifier it looked like the Sunrisers would make it straight through to the final when they were dominating the Chennai Super Kings but they let the veterans get away from them in the last few overs and paid the ultimate price. They really need their bowlers to turn up in this one if they are to make it through.
Kolkata Knight Riders
To be fair to the Kolkata Knight Riders they have been playing knockout cricket for a while now and they have done it successfully. They must be going into this match thinking it is difficult for them to lose but this is T20 cricket and generally when thoughts like that creep in the game comes back to bite so they need to maintain an intensity.
One thing which may well serve the Knight Riders well was they got themselves in trouble in the previous match against the Rajasthan Royals but they showed the poise and quality needed to get themselves out of it and in the end they ran out very worthy winners. That means they can win from in front and behind which is no bad thing.
Team News
Sunrisers Hyderabad are probably going to go into this match unchanged given that Carlos Brathwaite’s innings last time out confirmed his place in the side. They just need their key men to perform better.
Kolkata Knight Riders have no need to change their side although once again Javon Searles hasn’t rubber stamped his spot in the team so there is a spot for Mitchell Johnson or Tom Curran if the ‘home’ side do wish to freshen things up.
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Betting
I don’t think this is going to be a particularly high scoring match. Both sides have good bowling attacks who can restrict sides and in truth both top orders have shown signs of weakness when the pressure has been on them first up.
Runs on the board are usually a big thing in these matches and you wouldn’t really want to be chasing any kind of over par score against either of these attacks. This is the second match in three days here so the square might be a little tired so all things being equal I’m happy to do with under 330.5 total runs.
Tips
Back Under 330.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Karamba
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