Kolkata Knight Riders are having a season like no other in the 2024 Indian Premier League. They have managed to win nine games in the league stage from 14 and also qualified to the finals without dropping a game in the playoff stage. (More Cricket News)
With a better record against Sunrisers Hyderabad, an all-bases covered spin-attack and momentum on their side, they truly start as favourites according to Kevin Pietersen and Matthew Hayden.
"I'm very confident that KKR are going to win here, as having a few days off, having the ability to watch this match, and understanding what the strengths and weaknesses of Sunrisers Hyderabad are will be helpful," Hayden was quoted as saying by the PTI.
"KKR, having defeated SRH, is going to have great momentum. I also just feel that the quality spin of (Sunil) Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy on the red clay is going to make a difference," he added.
On the other hand, Kevin Pietersen was not too impressed by the approach Sunrisers went ahead with in the Qualifier 1 against the Knight Riders and the former England cricketer believes it has put them on the back foot for the final in Chennai.
He also mentioned that Head being introduced late in the game was more of a mentality factor and Shreyas Iyer’s men will take a lot of confidence after the drubbing at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
"I didn't like the way the Sunrisers threw in the towel the other evening in Ahmedabad, and I think it's going to put them on the back foot for the start on Sunday,” Pietersen said.
"The way they just finished that game off, Pat Cummins gave Travis Head the ball, and Shreyas Iyer just went bang, bang, bang. It'll give KKR a lot of confidence going into the finals knowing that they've already beaten SRH a couple of days ago," he added.
