The Indian Premier League finals get underway on Tuesday when the IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 takes place in Ahmedabad as the table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders go up against second placed Sunrisers Hyderabad for the first spot in the final.
This is the last match of the season which isn’t a straight knockout so both teams can relax a little but at the same time the prize is so big that we are sure to see them both going at full throttle to get to the final at the first time of asking.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders have been so good this season that even though their last two matches were washed out they were still able to top the table. That equation comes with positives and negatives. The positive is that they are clearly playing well and they are the team to beat but the negative is that they might have built up a bit of rust in the near two weeks since they were last on the field, and players have left in that time too which is a further issue which won’t help them.
The Knight Riders head into this Qualifier 1 match safe in the knowledge that they have already beaten the Sunrisers in the only meeting between the two sides so far this season, however that was right at the beginning of the campaign and they are likely to find a tougher opponent here. The good thing for Kolkata is that their bowlers have come to the party in the last few weeks and this Ahmedabad wicket could just suit their spin twins perfectly.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The Sunrisers Hyderabad have had a much improved season this time around and now after a near perfect final day of the campaign they get two goes at making it through to the final. They went into that last day knowing that they had to win and then Rajasthan not win and once they had seen off the Punjab Kings it was pretty obvious they had nothing to worry about because the weather was never going to relent in the other game to deny Hyderabad making it into this match.
That win over the Kings was very much reminiscent of the way they have played their cricket this season. Much like their opponents in this match, they look to get on top of the other team early with the bat and then use their power in the middle order to take games away from sides. If that plan works then they have a bowling unit which can get the job done in the second half of matches, which not every team in this competition can admit to.
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Key Players
You get the feeling that if the Kolkta Knight Riders are going to win the tournament Andre Russell will have a huge role to play at some point whether that is with the bat or the ball. With no knockout pressure on him here he could be at his most dangerous.
Travis Head failed completely in the previous match but this is the ground where he scored a century in the World Cup final so it will have good memories for him. If he gets off to a quick start then the Sunrisers could be ahead early doors.
Betting
It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to expect anything other than a high scoring game of cricket here. Both of these teams have the ability to be brutal with the bat and they both set out to impose themselves on the opposition when they have the bat in hand. They should have the pitch to do just that too because it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to take the finals to the bigger venue in the country and then play the game on a tacky track.
The question is how best to play the thought of a high scoring game. The run line is up in the 390s and while I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that gets covered, you need both teams to contribute to the scoring for that whereas the 51.5 boundaries offers up a monster first score and then just a normal second innings possibility so I like the idea of that. This is not a big ground straight down the ground and with three of the matches here having first innings scores of 199 or more, I think we go past 51.5 boundaries in this one.
Tips
Back Over 51.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
