IPL 2018 Final, Venue, Date and Timing: Sunrisers Hyderabad's road to final

Unlike their opponents Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad's journey to the Indian Premier League (IPL) final came through a bumpy road. The Kane Williamson-led Orange Army had to travel to Kolkata to book their final berth after knocking out two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders by 14 runs in Qualifier 2 on Friday.

The high-rated two southern rivals last met on May 22 in Qualifier 1, which eventually concluded in the favour of CSK. Chennai, who won the title in 2010 and 2011, edged past their rivals in a low-scoring thriller after looking down in the dumps at one stage during the run-chase.

The IPL 2018 table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad have proved themselves as the strongest bowling unit in the 11th edition of the cash-rich league.

SRH captain and textbook batsman Kane Williamson is looking in a perfect shape for T-20 cricket, for the first time in his career. He has scored 688 runs in 16 matches with a strike rate of 143.33.

Hyderabad boast of a bowling line up that can defend totals even under 150s as they have done that in the recent past. Their bowlers excelled maximum when they managed to defend just 119 runs and 133 runs against Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab respectively.

SRH strike bowlers such as Sidharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma have been expensive in death overs in last few matches. Adding to that, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's absence has also been a big factor behind their low performance.

Star spinner Rashid Khan will be a crucial player for them in the final. Big ticket batsman Manish Pandey has to take some responsibility in the middle-order to prove his worth. Shikhar Dhawan also needs to continue the momentum he has built in past few matches.