SRH Predicted Playing 11 vs KKR for the IPL 2024 Final
The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will face off against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, May 26. The Orange Army are yet to beat the Knight Riders this season.
SRH lost Qualifier 1 by a big margin and needed to dig deep in Qualifier 2 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). They made a couple of changes to their side for that encounter and might need to keep their options open for the summit clash, given the varied nature of the conditions on offer at Chepauk.
However, Hyderabad will prioritize stability at the business end of the tournament, and striking the right balance will be key.
SRH's squad for IPL 2024: Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abhishek Sharma, Marco Jansen, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, T Natarajan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Travis Head, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Pat Cummins (c), Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan.
On that note, here is SRH's predicted playing XII (including one impact sub) for the IPL 2024 final against KKR.
Openers: Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma
SRH's openers didn't fire in Qualifier 1 as Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora ran through the top order in the powerplay. Travis Head did play an important knock against RR, but Abhishek Sharma hasn't fired for a couple of matches now. The Indian southpaw will need to survive the new ball and take on KKR's spinners.
Middle order: Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad
Rahul Tripathi's inclusion at No. 3 has given SRH a breath of fresh air. The experienced batter seems to be in terrific form right now and will be one of their key players in the IPL 2024 final.
Aiden Markram has had a disappointing campaign so far, and his presence in the side has also taken away Nitish Kumar Reddy's ideal batting position. While Glenn Phillips is an option, SRH might want to stick with the South African, who generally finds ways to contribute in crucial games.
The rest of Hyderabad's middle-order is expected to wear a similar look. Shahbaz Ahmed came in as the impact player in the last game and won the Player of the Match award, but with KKR having plenty of left-handers and the Chennai pitch not expected to turn as much as it did in Qualifier 2, Pat Cummins might want to keep his options open.
Lower order: Pat Cummins (c), Jaydev Unadkat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Jaydev Unadkat, and Pat Cummins are likely to make up the pace attack, with the SRH captain talking about wanting extra options in that department.
Having a leg-spinner could help SRH against the likes of Andre Russell and Rinku Singh, so Mayank Markande could play ahead of Shahbaz if the batting unit does its job.
SRH's predicted playing XII (inc. impact sub): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande.
Other impact sub candidates: Shahbaz Ahmed, Umran Malik, Mayank Agarwal, Washington Sundar, Sanvir Singh.