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IMAGES from the IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 played between SunRisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
Mitchell Starc-powered Kolkata Knight Riders' juggernaut rolled into the IPL final as the two-time champions produced a ruthless performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad for an eight-wicket win in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
On a benign wicket in steaming hot conditions, SRH's fight petered out as KKR knocked off the innocuous 160-run target in a mere 13.4 overs with skipper Shreyas Iyer (58 not out off 24) and Venkatesh Iyer (51 not out off 28) taking them over the line.
KKR will play their fourth IPL final in Chennai on Sunday.
Starc produced a stunning opening burst of three wickets in the powerplay to break the back of SRH's dangerous batting.
They were eventually shot out for a mere 159 in 19.3 overs with Rahul Tripathi scoring a vital 55 while Heinrich Klaasen (32) and Pat Cummins (30) also fought hard.
SRH, who had pipped Rajasthan Royals on the final day of the league stage to finish second in the points table, will now proceed to Chennai to have another crack at making the summit clash with the Qualifier 2 to be played on May 24.
The Pat Cummins-led side will face the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru to be played in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
In his first game this season, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (23) played his role to perfection with two crucial grabs behind the wicket and a quickfire 14-ball 23 at the top laced with two sixes and as many fours.
Chasing a below-par target, KKR raised their fifty in no time.
Sunil Narine (21) perished shortly after the powerplay which brought the pair of Shreyas and Venkatesh together.
They put on 97 runs for the third wicket to complete a comprehensive victory.
Shreyas also had luck on his side as a paddle sweep off Viyaskanth Vijaykanth ricocheted off SRH keeper Heinrich Klaasen who went for the catch in the 10th over.
But with short midwicket fielder Rahul Tripathi running in hard for it as well, Klaasen could not hold onto the ball despite having it in his grasp while avoiding a near collision.
The evening went from bad to worse for SRH and Head, who spilled a regulation catch off T Natarajan in the 11th over, giving the KKR skipper another lifeline.
If Shreyas was content nurdling the ball around while putting the odd ball away for boundaries, Venkatesh outmatched his skipper with a rapid half-century which was completed off 28 balls.
However, Shreyas overtook his younger partner to wrap up the game with a flurry of boundaries. Venkatesh, on his part, remained unbeaten on 51 off 28 balls with four sixes and five fours.
IPL's costliest buy Mitchell Starc lived up to the billing with a sensational three-wicket early burst as Kolkata Knight Riders shot SunRisers Hyderabad for a below-par 159 in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Starc found delivered a body blow on the second ball of the game by rattling Travis Head's stumps before accounting for the in-form Nitish Reddy (9) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0) to leave the opponents reeling inside the powerplay.
IPL's third highest run-getter Head was all over the place when he went for a wild heave against the lanky Australian, who got the ball nipping slightly away after pitching and knocking down the off and middle stumps to dismiss the batter for his second consecutive duck.
Starc then bounced out Reddy with wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz settling himself well under the ball for a simple grab.
Shahbaz was the next to depart as he chopped one onto his wickets looking to guide it down to the third man.
Starc's opening spell of 3-0-22-3 gave KKR complete control of the proceedings as the other bowlers thrived in the situation to drive home the advantage.
Reduced to 39/3, SRH needed a counterattack and that came from Rahul Tripathi (55 off 35) but it was far from enough.
Tripathi soaked in pressure well to keep the boundaries flowing for SRH but he did not find enough support from the other end, beyond a 62-run stand for the fifth wicket with Heinrich Klaasen.
The burly South African, who had scored a vital 49 in the last match, did not go all out but played a crucial knock of 32, which came off 21 balls with three fours and a six until he found the man at deep midwicket off Varun Chakravarthy in the 11th over.
Facing the task of rebuilding again, there was no respite for the struggles that SRH had to endure when Tripathi was run out after a brilliant effort in the field from Andre Russell caught the SRH batter halfway through the pitch when there was perhaps no run on offer.
Abdul Samad hammered a six off his first ball but his resistance too did not last long enough and the last of the recognised SRH batters, impact player Sanvir Singh, was cleaned up by Sunil Narine (1/40) on the first ball he faced.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins played a crucial knock of 30 off 24 while also putting on a vital 33-run stand for the last wicket with Vijayakanth Viyaskanth to take SRH beyond the 150-mark.