The end of Delhi Daredevils’ Indian Premier League campaign in the ninth edition seems to have ended the city’s interest in the play-offs to be held in the city. A measly number of spectators turned up for the Eliminator played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, but those present were treated some great cricket. It wasn’t a typical slam-bang kind of a day, but there was sharp cricket where bowlers delivered to the precision of the captain’s plans, and it made for a great viewing.

The totals scored weren’t a true reflection of the wicket though, which held true for the batsmen, whose inability to adapt quickly enough to score runs gave bowlers the leeway to stifle them. That, however, bodes well for the Sunrisers given that their bowling will be up against the might of the Gujarat Lions’ daunting batting line-up on Friday in the Qualifier 2 at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Gujarat, who finished the league stages at the top with 18 points, were outclassed by AB de Villiers in the first qualifier against Royal Challengers Bangalore after having the opposition on the mat at 29 for 5, in a chase of 159. Gujarat’s top order failed with the top three scoring six runs of the 158, but Dwayne Smith’s 41-ball 73 gave them a chance.

There were three ducks scored in Bangalore’s innings, but the half-century from de Villiers with Iqbal Abdullah for company in an unbeaten 91-run stand took them to their second final of the IPL. That meant Gujarat had another game to win if they were to be the first team to make the final of the IPL in their maiden season.

Gujarat’s strong start to their campaign with three wins on the trot was halted by the Sunrisers, who walloped them by ten wickets in Rajkot. They bounced back from that setback with a hat-trick of wins, only to lose their three subsequent ones. Sunrisers were the only team to have outsmarted them both times in the tournament with clinical bowling outings. Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar played their roles to perfection of being the skinflint and the wicket-picker respectively. While Mustafizur conceded under five runs an over in both games, Bhuvneshwar, picked up six wickets.

The Sunrisers management’s plans seemed to have worked to perfection against Gujarat in their previous two encounters. However, on a new day, they will have to start from scratch in a bid to make their first final of the IPL.

It is a no-brainer that Gujarat’s batting is their stronger area with five batsmen aggregating over 300 runs this season, while only David Warner (686) and Shikhar Dhawan (473) have crossed the mark for Sunrisers. However, bowling being Sunrisers’ forte, the pace pair of Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur have collectively accounted for 37 wickets this season.

That Sunrisers played Kolkata and had the chance to assess the nature of the pitch will have them better prepared for the clash, with the captain elucidating that the lack of tall bowlers in either team meant that they will have to “use skill and execution to reduce totals” on a pitch that is expected to offer bounce. Another factor that would assist in reducing totals will be fielding something that both teams can bank on, given their routines so far.

With the trend of chasing having mobbed this IPL, Feroz Shah Kotla stands as an exception with four teams having won defending, when compared to the two, chasing. Warner conceded that he was unsure of whether to bat or bowl on the given wicket against Kolkata, but it worked out well for him. Gujarat would have had a good look at the wicket at their practice session on the eve of the game, while Sunrisers rested.

Plans in place and homework done, the execution of two evenly-matched sides will be vital in a classic case of Gujarat’s batsmen versus Sunrisers’ bowlers. There will be a few nerves as the winner takes on Bangalore, but rest assured, the crowning of a new IPL champion.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (From): Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner(c), Naman Ojha(w), Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Ben Cutting, Bipul Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, Mustafizur Rahman, Karn Sharma, Abhimanyu Mithun, Siddarth Kaul, Eoin Morgan, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Ashish Nehra, Aditya Tare, Tirumalsetti Suman, Ashish Reddy, Vijay Shankar, Ricky Bhui

Gujarat Lions (From): Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Eklavya Dwivedi, Praveen Kumar, Shadab Jakati, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sarabjit Ladda, James Faulkner, Pradeep Sangwan, Paras Dogra, Jaydev Shah, Dale Steyn, Andrew Tye, Pravin Tambe, Akshdeep Nath, Umang Sharma, Amit Mishra, Ishan Kishan, Shivil Kaushik