IPL Final: "They'll be hard to beat"- Brett Lee and Tillakaratne Dilshan predict IPL 2024 winner

Former international cricketers Brett Lee and Tillakaratne Dilshan shared their views on the winner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Brett Lee and Tillakaratne Dilshan stated that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the strong favorites to win the ongoing tournament due to their consistent performance.

The Kolkata Knight Riders finished at the top of the points table after the end of league stage matches. It marked the first time KKR became table-toppers in the competition's history. The Shreyas Iyer-led side secured a spot in the final after defeating the strong Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team in Qualifier 1.

The two-time champions chased down the 160-run target in 13.4 overs with eight wickets in the Qualifier 1 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday, May 21. The Knight Riders will face the winner of 'Qualifier 2' in the summit clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, May 26.

I Picked RCB Right From The Top - Brett Lee

Brett Lee stated that he was disappointed with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) elimination from the ongoing IPL 2024 season. Lee mentioned that KKR will be tough to beat considering their current form. The former pacer stated that KKR deserves to be the winner of the competition.

"I picked RCB right from the top and I was disappointed when they got knocked out last night. But if you look on paper and in its current form, it will be tough to beat KKR. I think they're probably the team that deserves to finish at the number one position. They're straight through the finals on Sunday, so they'll be pretty hard to beat," Lee told ANI.

KKR Going To Win This IPL - Tillakaratne Dilshan

Tillakaratne Dilshan highlighted the Kolkata Knight Riders' consistent performance throughout the IPL 2024 season. Dilshan stated that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) lost four out of their last five league matches despite a good start. Dilshan expressed his belief that KKR will emerge as the winner of the IPL.

"I think, according to me, consistently performing KKR doing well throughout the tournament. RR played very good, they played very good cricket. But when you are going halfway through, a little bit they are up and down. But KKR doing consistently, they are performing in all three departments, bowling, batting and failing. Hopefully, my view, I think, is KKR going to win this IPL," Dilshan said.

KKR's players are in stellar form before the summit clash in the IPL 2024 season. Sunil Narine has been exceptional with the bat, amassing 482 runs at an impressive strike rate of 179.85. Captain Shreyas Iyer (345 runs), Venkatesh Iyer (318 runs), and Andre Russell (222 runs) strengthened the team's middle order.

Varun Chakravarthy (20 wickets), Harshit Rana (17 wickets), Sunil Narine (16 wickets), Andre Russell (16 wickets), Mitchell Starc (15 wickets), and Vaibhav Arora (10 wickets) have maintained control over opposition batters. Starc provided three crucial wickets in the powerplay during 'Qualifier 1' to set the tone.

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