IPL 2024 Qualifier 1: Who Will Lead As Top Wicket-Takers In KKR Vs SRH?

IPL 2024 is now in its last week, and in the first qualifier of this season, the Kolkata Knight Riders will face Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday (May 21).

Kolkata ended the league as the table-leader with 19 points and only three losses. On the other hand, SRH managed to secure the second spot due to a better net run rate than Rajasthan Royals, who share the same points with SRH.

The Knights won four consecutive matches, though their last two matches were abandoned due to rain. Whereas SRH have only three of their last five matches.

Both teams have met 26 times, and KKR have an overwhelming dominance over their rival by a 17-to-9 winning ratio. In their last meeting, the Knights clinched their victory by four runs at Eden Gardens, thanks to brilliant death-over bowling by Harshit Rana.

The Knights bowling unit has been phenomenal this season, with five bowlers having more than 11 wickets. Their spinner duo, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, is one of the key factors behind the KKR's successful run.

Though, barring Mitchell Starc, the Knights lacked expert pacers, uncapped pacers like Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora compensated for the issue. Andre Russell also played a crucial role in the middle overs by picking important wickets in every other match.

On the other hand, the Sunrisers remain dependent on their pacers for the whole season. The Pat Cummins-led SRH-pace battery has been phenomenal so far.

T. Natarajan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, along with Jayadev Unadkat and Marco Jansen, made a formidable pace attack. Though they lack the same depth in their spin department, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, the only regular spinner for SRH, has been average this season.

Harshit Rana (KKR): The 22-year-old Indian pacer has stepped up and led the Knights' pace attack when their only seasoned pacer, Mitchell Starc, underperformed continuously. Despite missing a few matches, the right-arm medium-fast bowler has bagged 16 wickets.

Rana has proven himself at the death overs multiple times in this campaign and also defended KKR against SRH in their last meeting, but today he will be much needed to get an early breakthrough against the Travis Head-Abhishek Sharma partnership.

Varun Chakravarthy (KKR): The highest wicket-taker for the Knights and also a serious contender for the Purple Cap, the 32-year-old right-arm leg-spinner has bagged 18 wickets in 13 matches.

Along with Sunil Narine, Chakravarthy has been an instrumental element of the Knights' middle-over bowling. Despite having a rough start, he made a comeback and became the highest wicket-taking spinner. Chakravarthy will be crucial against Hyderabad's explosive middle-order batters.

T Natarajan (SRH): With 17 wickets in 11 matches, the 34-year-old veteran pacer has been a key performer for the Hyderabad side. Even with the presence of star pacers like Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he has been able to draw attention towards him. The left-arm medium-fast bowler will be crucial against the KKR top-order batters, who have been phenomenal this season.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH): The Indian right-arm medium-fast bowler has good records in this venue, as he has picked nine wickets here with very meagre run-rates. The 34-year-old pacer has bagged 11 wickets till now, despite having a below average season. Against the very deep Knights batting line-up, he has to step up his game.

Both teams have a bold and fearless approach in this IPL, and on the batting pitch of Ahmedabad, it will be expected to experience a high-scoring match. Due to two washouts, Kolkata has missed the chance of getting a final match practice; this could affect them.

Also, they will certainly miss Phil Salt's absence in the opening. Pacer-friendly wickets, exceptional batting form, and good past statistics will favour the Sunrisers and might give them an upper hand against the two-time champion. Hence, a highly competitive showdown is expected from the clash between these elite teams in the first qualifier of the season.