In the most unbalanced final in IPL history, KKR outsmarts SRH to win their first title since 2014, and Gambhir becomes the first captain and mentor to win the trophy.
Venkatesh Iyer was on strike, and the Kolkata Knight Riders dugout was on its feet as they were only one run away from a resounding eight-wicket victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final. The left-hander paddle-swept for a single, setting up loud celebrations in the KKR camp.
IPL 2024 Final: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
The entire team came out to celebrate with the two Iyers, Venkatesh and Shreyas, and the owners were overjoyed in the stands as their wait for an IPL victory was finally over. The cameras kept hunting for mentor Gautam Gambhir, who was busy offering bear embraces to the entire group while smiling broadly. The DJ instantly turned to Chak De India, and the party began for the Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL 2024 champions.
The IPL final has frequently been a rematch of Qualifier 1, and the title match of the 2024 edition was no exception. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were the two most consistent teams during the regular rounds, but the Playoffs are a different beast.
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Even the best in the business have found it difficult to dominate the knockouts, and SRH certainly faced KKR’s heat this year. Not once, but twice as after Qualifier 1 they were outsmarted by Shreyas Iyer & Co. in what turned out to be the most lopsided final in IPL history.
SRH just didn’t have enough runs on the board and became the first side to get bowled out in the final, that too without facing 20 overs. 113 – SRH’s third-lowest total in the IPL and the lowest total in an IPL final – was never going to pose any challenge to this KKR unit and mere formalities were left to be completed in the second innings of the match.
There was a consolation wicket of Sunil Narine early in the innings but just one-way traffic after that as Venkatesh Iyer and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put on 91 runs in lightning-quick time to put the side on home stretch.
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Bowling masterclass
The batting, however, was never going to be a point of discussion today as the night was set-up by the bowlers. KKR served a bowling masterclass in the title clash and Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player in the league’s history, led from the front with a probing spell which put SRH on the mat.
Even before he bowled his first delivery, the quick was in the opposition’s head as Travis Head decided not to take strike. Starc had dismissed him the last time two sides met in Qualifier 1 and it was young Abhishek Sharma in the firing line now.
From the first delivery, there was enough movement and the fifth ball which came out of the left-armer’s hand was a ripper! Pitched on length, it swung away late and crashed into the stumps.
Abhishek stood shocked and the SRH dugout wore a worried look as celebrations began in the KKR camp. In consecutive games now, KKR clipped the wings of high-flying SRH openers and never allowed their innings to get any momentum whatsoever.
Head stayed away from strike vs Starc but was dismissed for a golden duck by Vaibhav Arora from the other end. Rahul Tripathi came and went, and the batters to follow had no answers to the versatile seamers of KKR. If Starc was moving them at a brisk pace, Arora had a nice natural angle into the right-hander and Harshit Rana was mixing his pace smartly.
There was just on respite from both ends and even when seamers were given a break, Andre Russell and the spin-twins – Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine – sustained pressure in the middle overs.
Pat Cummins & Co. kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never had a partnership going their way. It was just the second time in the IPL that six different bowlers picked a wicket. That’s how good KKR were in the title clash.
The only thing which didn’t go KKR’s way was the toss as they outplayed the opposition in every department to register a very comprehensive win.
