Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 title with a stellar all-round performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a thrilling final at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This victory marks KKR’s third IPL trophy, echoing the memories of their maiden triumph at the same venue in 2012. On May 26, 2024, KKR emerged victorious by chasing down a modest target of 113 set by SRH, and they did so in just 10.3 overs with as many as eight wickets in hand.
At the crucial toss, KKR’s skipper Shreyas Iyer expressed his preference for bowling first, a decision they had to forego as SRH had won the toss and opted to bat. The KKR bowlers delivered impeccably, upholding their captain’s belief by putting up a clinic against the SRH batters. Leading the charge was Mitchell Starc, whose previous outstanding performance against SRH in Ahmedabad had earned him the Player of the Match accolade.
SRH’s innings got off to a shaky start. Abhishek Sharma took the strike in place of Travis Head against the fiery Starc. With excellent control and swing, Starc posed numerous challenges right from the outset. By the end of the first over, he had bowled one of the tournament’s finest deliveries, one that pitched on middle stump and swung away just enough to rattle the stumps of a bewildered Abhishek. This early breakthrough set the tone for what was to be a dismal innings for SRH.
Energized by Starc’s remarkable over, Vaibhav Arora continued to pressurize the SRH batting line-up. Travis Head, facing his first delivery, succumbed to an equally impressive delivery from Arora, edging it to the wicketkeeper. With two of their most prolific openers back in the pavilion with just six runs on the board, SRH found themselves in dire straits.
Runs were scarce as KKR’s bowlers maintained a tight grip over the proceedings during the powerplay. SRH managed to find the boundary for the first time only in the third over. Starc, not content with his earlier exploit, returned in the fifth over to claim the scalp of Rahul Tripathi, who mistimed an aggressive shot to be caught in the mid-wicket region.
There was a brief respite for SRH in the form of Nitish Reddy’s 17-run over off Arora in the final over of the powerplay, which included SRH’s first six. However, the joy was short-lived as KKR’s bowlers sought to back up Starc and Arora’s early efforts with further wickets during the middle overs.
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Bowling with precision, Andre Russell and Harshit Rana took turns dismantling the SRH batting order. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy choked the runs further with their economical spells. Reddy’s innings ended soon after the powerplay as he was caught behind off Rana’s clever delivery.
Russell then claimed the wicket of Aiden Markram, who attempted to take the attack to the bowlers only to hole out to Starc stationed at long-on. Shahbaz Ahmed followed suit, falling to Chakaravarthy early in his innings with a catch at short fine-leg. Abdul Samad, brought in as SRH’s impact player, couldn’t add much to the scoreboard and was dismissed by Russell, caught behind the stumps.
The biggest blow to SRH came when Heinrich Klaasen, one of their dependable batters, was bowled by Rana in the 15th over, leaving SRH reeling and not having even crossed the 100-run mark. Pat Cummins exhibited some resistance, managing to stretch the inning to three figures and finishing as the team’s top-scorer with 24 runs. Ironically, the innings concluded when Starc, who had earlier dropped Cummins, caught him at long-on.
In their chase, KKR began aggressively. Rahmanullah Gurbaz set the tone by hitting the second ball past point for a boundary. Even though Narine perished after hitting a big six off Cummins, the jitters quickly subsided as Venkatesh Iyer took charge with two massive sixes and a four in the subsequent over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, accelerating the chase.
KKR’s innings galloped forward with their fifty coming up in less than five overs. Venkatesh Iyer was particularly merciless, targeting the leg side boundaries. Despite Gurbaz’s measured approach, it was Venkatesh who stole the show, finishing the powerplay at a rapid 72 for one.
Post powerplay, Gurbaz too joined the party, launching an assault against the spinners, propelling KKR past the 100-run mark inside nine overs. Gurbaz eventually fell for 39, but the damage was already done.
The Iyer duo, Venkatesh, and Shreyas, guided KKR seamlessly to victory. Venkatesh Iyer brought up his fifty in just 24 balls and fittingly hit the winning runs in the next over, sparking jubilant celebrations as KKR lifted their third IPL title amidst roaring cheers at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.