In a night filled with electric tension and high stakes at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 title. With a dominating all-round performance, they comprehensively overcame Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final, scripting a story of triumph that echoed their first title win at the same venue back in 2012. On May 26, 2024, KKR lifted their third IPL trophy, underlining their dominance in the league.
The final began with a bit of strategizing at the toss, where KKR’s captain Shreyas Iyer expressed his preference for chasing. However, it was SRH who won the toss and opted to bat first. This decision played right into KKR’s hands as their bowlers came out all guns blazing. Mitchell Starc, leading the KKR bowling unit, set the tone by delivering an exceptional first over that spilled into a dream start for the Knight Riders.
Starc, who was instrumental in the team’s previous success during their encounter in Ahmedabad, took the new ball confronting SRH’s Abhishek Sharma. In just the first over, Starc managed to bowl what was arguably one of the deliveries of the tournament. A ball pitched around middle-stump and sharply nipped away, squaring up Abhishek Sharma to clinch the first wicket as the ball clattered into the stumps.
Encouraged by Starc’s impactful over, KKR’s Vaibhav Arora kept the pressure firmly on SRH. When Travis Head faced his first delivery, Arora swung the ball away, inducing an edge that flew straight to KKR’s wicketkeeper. The scoreboard read a precarious 6 for 2, dealing a significant blow to SRH as they lost their most formidable openers.
The effort from KKR’s bowlers didn’t stop there. Starc returned in the powerplay to remove Rahul Tripathi, who in trying to play an expansive shot, ended up hitting a skier straight to mid-wicket. SRH’s struggle for runs only intensified with just 17 runs off the last over of the powerplay bowled by Arora, where Nitish Reddy hit the first six of the innings.
In the middle overs, KKR continued their ruthless march, with every bowler chipping in. Andre Russell and Harshit Rana delivered crucial spells, putting a firm stranglehold on SRH’s batting unit. Meanwhile, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy offered no respite, maintaining miserly economy rates.
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Recently promoted Nitish Reddy quickly fell to Rana post powerplay, and Aiden Markram holed out to long-on off Russell’s bowling for a meager 20 runs. With SRH’s innings stuttering, the much-talked-about impact player Abdul Samad could manage little as he too edged one behind off Russell. The biggest blow perhaps came when Rana dismantled Heinrich Klaasen’s stumps in the 15th over, effectively dousing any lingering hopes SRH had for setting a competitive total.
Though Pat Cummins fought valiantly towards the end, churning out a top score of 24, SRH could only muster a meager 113 before being bowled out. Cummins was involved in a minor anomaly when he was dropped by Starc at long-on, but fittingly, the same bowler took the catch to finally dismiss Cummins and wrap up the innings in the 19th over.
Chasing 114 for victory, KKR had no intention of dragging the game out. Rahmanullah Gurbaz started the proceedings in a brisk manner, hitting a boundary off the second delivery. Although KKR lost Narine early, thanks to a mistimed shot off Cummins, Venkatesh Iyer’s impactful entry extinguished SRH’s nerves quickly. Iyer hit two towering sixes and a four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, marking an aggressive intent that propelled KKR towards the finish line.
By the end of the powerplay, KKR had bulldozed their way to 72 for one, with Venkatesh Iyer being the chief architect. His onslaught continued as the team’s fifty came up inside five overs. Gurbaz, having played a relatively quiet hand initially, quickened his pace post-powerplay when spinners entered the attack. KKR cruised past 100 in under nine overs, leaving SRH with minimal options to fight back.
Approaching the target, Gurbaz fell for 39, but Venkatesh Iyer remained and saw the job through. His fifty came off just 24 balls, encapsulating the dominant display. Appropriately, Venkatesh struck the winning runs, setting off massive celebrations as KKR players flooded the field, rejoicing in their hard-earned and thoroughly deserved IPL title.
This victory not only added another jewel to KKR’s crown but also exemplified their all-round excellence, a characteristic that has been a hallmark of their campaigns over the years. With this win, KKR reinforced their status as one of the premier teams in the IPL pantheon.