The two highest-priced players in the IPL – Australia teammates Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc – will go head-to-head Tuesday for a place in the final as the cash-rich Twenty20 league enters the playoffs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Cummins cost $2.5 million at auction, a record which stood briefly until Kolkata Knight Riders then paid $2.98 million for fast bowler Starc.
Former champions Hyderabad finished second after a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings on Sunday with Kolkata topping the table – setting up the clash at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad where the winners will reach Sunday’s final.
The losers will get a second chance on Friday against either the third-placed Rajasthan Royals or Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who finished fourth. They play in an eliminator on Wednesday.
The final will be followed just six days later by the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States. Cummins last year led Australia to the 50-over World Cup when they beat India in the final, also at Ahmedabad.
“We’ve had a lot of fun and played some really great cricket,” Cummins said of his side that twice broke the IPL scoring record this season, with innings of 277 and 287.
“It’s satisfying and exciting” to be in the play-offs, he said. “A few of these guys haven’t played in (IPL) finals before – I haven’t played in finals before.”
Kolkata have been the team to beat with 20 points from 14 matches and were the first of the 10 IPL teams to clinch a playoff place.
They hit 272-7 against Delhi Capitals this season, the third highest innings in IPL history behind Hyderabad’s two huge totals.
Starc had a quiet start, but began to justify his price tag with match-winning figures of 3-38 against Lucknow Super Giants last month.—AFP
