Kolkata and Hyderabad, both famous for biryani, vie for IPL bragging rights

After a long, hot summer of cricket where it rained sixes and fours in a batsmen-friendly IPL, it has come down to this. The Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Kolkata Knight Riders for this year’s bragging rights.

It was probably not the first pick of experts, pre-tournament, to make it to the final, but it was not the last.

The primary reason for this is SRH’s acquisition of Pat Cummins. As a bowler, Cummins is world-class, but his efficacy is highest in Test cricket. Cummins can hit a long ball but you would not go as far as putting him in the bowling allrounder category.


Cummins got the big bucks for his leadership. His captaincy of Australia has been marked by tactical acumen. His handling of bowlers, setting of fields and deployment of batsmen out of position had all helped move the game forward.

But, more than this, it was Cummins’ instinct to take care of his flock and get the best out of those who looked up to him that Hyderabad was banking on. Cummins’ main task was to bring this team together. And he has delivered spectacularly.

Travis Head unleashed hell as we know he can and Abhishek Sharma emerged as someone whom the Indian selectors will not be able to ignore for much longer. Nitish Kumar Reddy came up with the goods in the big moments, and he is that elusive character that Indian cricket is always on the lookout for – a batsman and medium pacer. T Natarajan re-emerged as someone who can bowl yorkers at will, literally the only way to stop batsmen from scoring in this edition of the tournament, very bowler unfriendly and only made worse with the Impact Player affording teams an extra specialist batsman.

Add to these effervescent elements the stability and professionalism of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Heinrich Klaasen and you have the answer to why the Sunrisers have mounted such a strong campaign and are worthy finalists.

Across the sight screen at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk will be the Knight Riders. And, shock horror, their story is not dissimilar to the Sunrisers. Captain Shreyas Iyer has not had the best of times in the past. Recurring injuries have meant being in and out of the Indian team and stints at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for rehabilitation.

When Iyer did not play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and subsequently got left out of India’s central contracts list, his career graph hit a new low. But, those who have watched Shreyas from when he was young, vouch for his mental strength and his captaincy.

Shreyas had more resources at his disposal, possibly, but crucially also experience. KKR ranks are filled with players who have had success not only in the IPL but in T20 leagues around the world. The key here was to harness the different talents in a manner that allowed them to pull as one. To turn Sunil Narine, the mystery bowler into a monstrous opening batsman, not just a disposable wicket but a key cog, was a masterstroke.

Shreyas, with Gautam Gambhir and Chandrakant Pandit in the back room, had to sort out a formula that would allow KKR’s diverse talents to understand the team goal and play towards it. At times, it was not even necessary that the players understood or saw the bigger picture. Such is the respect that Shreyas and Gambhir command, that a player would simply go out and perform a specific role, knowing that the management had his back, even if he had a bad day on the field.

Before the Qualifier, Shreyas had this to say about what he demanded: “Three things that I am looking forward to is win, win and win.”

This might seem like stating the bleeding obvious, but it comes from a place of security, of confidence and achievement. When a team trusts in a process and commits to it, and the results back this up, there’s no reason why a captain would not talk the talk. But, the key element for both these teams going into the final is to t a k e nothing for granted. With every passing year, teams are getting sharper at playing T20 cricket. The margins are narrowing and every single ball has become a conscious effort and event in itself. With that being the case, the role luck plays is undeniable. A small break can go a long way.

Fortunately, these teams are led by mature individuals who are humble enough to acknowledge this. The only curiosity about the two teams that have reached the final of IPL 2024? Not one player from either team is in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. Welcome to the upsidedown world of the shortest format of the game.