CHENNAI : Chennai on Sunday witnessed a rain-free morning but cloudy weather ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, as ESPNcricinfo reported.
As per ESPNcricinfo, KKR’s training session was disturbed by a sharp spell of rain lasting over an hour. However, at the time of 1 pm on Sunday afternoon, the rain peril appeared to be removed, having just a 4 per cent chance of precipitation according to Accuweather as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
In case the weather becomes the hurdle in the summit clash, there is a provision for a reserve day.
Notably, the 2023 IPL final in Ahmedabad went into the reserve day, where due to the rain the match was pushed to the finish of the match. In the match, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) chased down the revised total target of 171 in 15 against Gujarat Titans (GT) – at 1:35 am on what was actually day three.
KKR finished the league stage on the top of the points table with nine wins, three losses and two no results, giving them 20 points. They earned a direct spot in the final by defeating SRH in the qualifier one. SRH got a second shot at the title in the qualifier two against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and they made the most of it by defeating the Men in Pink by 36 runs.
Meanwhile, SRH captain Pat Cummins remarked that his golden run as captain in all formats of cricket has to end at some point in time.
“It has been great. The run has got to stop at some point. It has been a great couple of years. I had not captained in T20 before this tournament. I did not know what to expect. It is quite fast-paced (in T20Is). Drawing on ODI captaincy last year, it (T20Is) did not feel too foreign,” Cummins said in the pre-match press conference.
The pitch for the final is a red-soil strip which was also used for CSK’s match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on May 1.
On the playing surface, KKR captain Shreyas Iyer the wicket is different from what it was yesterday during the qualifier two between SRH and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
“It is red soil, yesterday it was black. Looking through TV, we thought dew was going to play a role, but it did not the ball started spinning,” he concluded.
Irrespective of who comes out on top, the cricket fans and the sport itself will win, fortunate enough to witness what could the final game of a game-changing IPL. (ANI)