Cummins eyes another title as Hyderabad face Kolkata in IPL final

Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins will need a spectacular turnaround to secure another major title on Sunday, when his Sunrisers Hyderabad face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian

Pat Cummins (Image Source: Google)

Kolkata the team to beat

Kolkata, led by India's Shreyas Iyer, have been the side to beat in the competition and topped the 10-team table with 20 points in the league phase.

Apart from the big signing of Starc, Kolkata brought Gautam Gambhir on board as mentor after the former India batsman led the team to two titles in 2012 and 2014.

Kolkata beat home side Chennai Super Kings to lift their first title the last time they played a final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

"I'm very confident that KKR are going to win here," Australian cricketer-turned-commentator Matthew Hayden told Star Sports, pointing out that a few days off had given them the opportunity to understand their opponents' strengths and weaknesses.

Kolkata have lost just three matches all season, with all-rounder Sunil Narine promoted to open the innings and leading their batting charge with 482 runs, including a century.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy and fast bowler Harshit Rana have also shared 37 wickets between them.

However, Kolkata's bowlers will be wary of Hyderabad's left-handed opening pair of Head and Abhishek Sharma, who have given their team many strong starts.

Head has scored 567 runs, with a century and four fifties, to stand fourth in the IPL batting chart led by Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli on 741.

Abhishek, 23, has been described as a future India star with his 482 runs and a punishing strike-rate of more than 207.