Riding on a combination of Mitchell Starc's red-hot scorching spell, along with Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer's belligerent fifties, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) romped into the final of 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 8-wicket in a lopsided Qualifier 1 contest at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
Chasing 160, unbeaten half-centuries from the two Iyers (Shreyas and Venkatesh) finished off the run chase with 38 balls remaining thanks to an excellent partnership for the third wicket. KKR secured a place in the IPL 2024 final while SRH will get another chance in Qualifier 2.
Pacer Mitchell Starc was adjudged player of the match for his sensational bowling up front when he claimed the scalps of Travis Head, Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed in the powerplay.
"We know how important the powerplay is. These were the two sides who have dominated in the powerplay with the bat. We needed to pick early wickets and get into their middle-order.
"The way Head and Abhishek have been playing thoughout the tournament, they like width and free their arms. We just tried to swing the ball and not provide them width. Bowl stump to stump and tried the hard length. The spinners were effective and the whole bowling department was great.
On Head's scalp, he said: "Got lucky I guess, was nice to see his back early, not always the case."
Winning skipper Shreyas Iyer was elated by the result and said the unplanned 10-day break the team got due to two washed-out matches helped the players rejuvenate.
"The rejuvenation was important for us. When you travel so much. It's important to stay in the present. Today was the day we had to maximise, we did it and that's what we thrive on.
"The way every bowler stood up to this occasion, the way they came in and took wickets, that was imperative. The attitude and approach of all bowlers was to take wickets and they did."
