KKR vs SRH, IPL 2024 Qualifier 1: Toss result and playing XIs for today’s match, umpires list and pitch report
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, May 21. KKR finished on top of the points table after the league stage, with 20 points from 14 games. SRH came second, with 17 points. The clash is highly significant, as the winner will directly book a place in the final.
Kolkata were the most consistent side in the league stage of IPL 2024, which explains why they finished first. However, there are a couple of concerns for the franchise heading into Qualifier 1.
KKR haven't played a match since May 11. Their last two clashes against Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals were abandoned due to rain. They will also miss the services of opener Phil Salt.
Hyderabad, meanwhile, go into Qualifier 1 with a four-wicket victory against Punjab Kings in their last league match. Their batters, led by openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, have been in exceptional form.
The bowling too has improved as the tournament has progressed, with the likes of Pat Cummins, T Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar finding their rhythm.
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Today's KKR vs SRH toss result
SRH have won the toss and opted to bat first. Captain Pat Cummins said:
“Looks like a really good wicket. It's got a bit of grass here. Expect a high-scoring game here.”
Hyderabad are going in with the same XI as their last game. For Kolkata, with Phil Salt gone, Rahmanullah Gurbaz will open with Sunil Narine.
KKR vs SRH - Today's match playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
Kolkata subs: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, Sherfane Rutherford, KS Bharat
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan
Hyderabad subs: Umran Malik, Sanvir Singh, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat
Today's KKR vs SRH pitch report
According to Matthew Hayden, the pitch looks very dry, especially the middle area. Watch out for Pat Cummins and Co., who do a great job of taking the pace off ball, he said.
Hayden added that it's slightly darker in some of the other areas, which means that some moisture is still hanging around. It's very hard, so expect power-hitters to play a major role, he concluded.
Today's KKR vs SRH match players list
Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh , Anukul Roy, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sakib Hussain, Chetan Sakariya, Srikar Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford, Dushmantha Chameera, Suyash Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar
Sunrisers Hyderabad squad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Sanvir Singh, Aiden Markram, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Markande, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Agarwal, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Akash Maharaj Singh, Glenn Phillips
KKR vs SRH - Today's match umpires
On-field umpires: Anil Chaudhary, Rohan Pandit
TV umpire: KN Ananthapadmanabhan
Match Referee: Javagal Srinath