Kolkata Knight Riders Decimate SRH in a One-Sided IPL 2024 Final to Lift Their Third Trophy
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ended their 10-year title drought by winning their third Indian Premier League (IPL) championship on May 26, 2024. In a dominating performance at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, KKR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets with 63 balls to spare in the IPL 2024 final.
SRH Captain Pat Cummins Won The Toss and Opted to Bat First
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, SRH captain Pat Cummins’ decision backfired as Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Mitchell Starc dismantled Abhishek Sharma with the fifth ball of the match. Vaibhav Arora then removed Travis Head for a golden duck in the second over. Rahul Tripathi’s poor shot selection led to his dismissal, caught off a quick delivery from Starc. SRH were struggling at 40/3 after the powerplay overs.
Harshit Rana dismissed Nitish Reddy, who managed 13 runs from 10 balls, reducing SRH to 61/4 at the halfway mark. Andre Russell then claimed the key wicket of Aiden Markram, who scored 20 off 23 balls. Shahbaz Ahmed briefly counter-attacked with a six but fell to Varun Chakaravarthy. Abdul Samad contributed a single-digit score, further deepening SRH’s woes.
Rana returned to the attack to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen, who added 16 runs off 17 balls. Cummins was dropped by Starc in the 16th over but hit a six off Rana in the next. Sunil Narine ended Jaydev Unadkat’s slow innings of four runs from 11 balls. Cummins’ attempt for a big shot in the penultimate over resulted in his dismissal for 24 off 19 balls. SRH were all out for 113 with nine balls to spare.
KKR Chase Down the Target With More Than 8 Overs Remaining
In response, KKR started briskly despite Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s initial swing. Rahmanullah Gurbaz set the tone with a boundary, while Sunil Narine quickly scored a six before getting caught off Cummins’ bowling. Venkatesh Iyer aggressively took on Bhuvneshwar and T Natarajan, propelling KKR to 72/1 after the powerplay.
Gurbaz continued the onslaught with back-to-back sixes off Shahbaz Ahmed but was given out lbw for 39 off 32 balls. With no ultra-edge and ball-tracking technology available for review, Gurbaz had to depart. Shreyas Iyer joined the chase with a boundary, while Venkatesh Iyer reached his half-century off 24 balls. Venkatesh sealed the victory in the 11th over, remaining unbeaten on 52 off 26 balls, as KKR completed the run chase in just 10.3 overs, clinching their third IPL title.
Itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai! 🏆
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders)
19:30 IST
