How many players from the 2023 ODI World Cup final will feature in today's IPL 2024 final?
After 70 league games and three playoff matches, Kolkata Knight Riders and SunRisers Hyderabad emerged as the two finalists of IPL 2024. KKR and SRH met twice in the competition before the final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, May 26. Kolkata beat Hyderabad by four runs in the league stage and by eight wickets in Qualifier 1.
SunRisers Hyderabad batted first in Qualifier 1 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad but were held to 159 all out as Mitchell Starc claimed 3-34. Kolkata Knight Riders romped home in the chase in 13.4 overs as Venkatesh Iyer smacked 51* off 28 and Shreyas Iyer 58* off 24.
Incidentally, four players who featured in the India vs Australia 2023 ODI World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium will also be part of the IPL 2024 final on Sunday.
In fact, the captains of both finalists, Shreyas (KKR) and Pat Cummins (SRH), featured in the 2023 ODI World Cup final as well. Travis Head (SRH) and Starc (KKR) are the other two players who were part of Australia's squad in the 2023 World Cup final.
Head, in fact, was the Player of the Match in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad in front of a packed crowd. He smashed 137 off 120, hammering 15 fours and four sixes, as Australia chased down a target of 241 in 43 overs, getting home with six wickets in hand.
Starc and skipper Cummins also played a key role in Australia's World Cup triumph last year.
Starc registered figures of 3-55 from his 10 overs, which included the big scalps of Shubman Gill (4) and KL Rahul (66). Cummins, meanwhile, excelled with figures of 2-34 from his 10 overs. He had Shreyas caught behind for 4 with a beauty and bowled out Virat Kohli (54) to silence the partisan Ahmedabad crowd.
How Shreyas, Starc, Head and Cummins have performed in IPL 2024
KKR skipper Shreyas has done a decent job with the bat in IPL 2024. In 13 matches, he has 345 runs at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 146.19. Kolkata left-arm seamer Starc has claimed 15 wickets in 13 matches at an average of 28.67 and an economy rate of 11.07.
Looking at Head's numbers in IPL 2024, they have been exceptional. In 14 matches, he has slammed 567 runs at an average of 43.62 and a strike rate of 192.20, with one hundred and four fifties.
As for SRH captain Cummins, the right-arm pacer has claimed 17 scalps in 15 matches at an average of 32.24 and an economy rate of 9.29.