KKR Vs SRH, IPL 2024 Final: Kolkata Knight Riders Claim Title After 10-Year Wait (114/2 In 10.3 Overs) - As It Happened

Sunday, May 26, Kolkata Knight Riders are the Indian Premier League 2024 champions after a decade-long wait. Mitchell Starc spearheaded the demolition of the second-best team in the tournament, leading KKR to fashion the most one-sided IPL final, securing their third title. Starc began with arguably the ball of the tournament, and the tournament's most complete attack proved too formidable for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The pitch offered seam movement for at least seven overs, followed by grip off the surface. SRH were bowled out for the lowest total in an IPL final, managing just 113 runs. KKR chased down the target with 57 balls to spare, propelled by Venkatesh Iyer's iconic knock of 52 off 26 balls

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), Srikar Bharat, Manish Pandey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ramandeep Singh, Nitish Rana, Sherfane Rutherford, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Vaibhav Arora, Dushmantha Chameera, Harshit Rana, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sakib Hussain, Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Jaydev Unadkat, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Glenn Phillips, Nitish Reddy, Marco Jansen, Abhishek Sharma, Upendra Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Abdul Samad, Akash Maharaj Singh, Wanindu Hasaranga.

The weather in Chennai this evening will be around 33 degrees Celsius with 100% cloud cover. Humidity will be at 66%. Currently, the temperature is 37 degrees Celsius. Throughout the day, the temperature will range between 38 and 31 degrees Celsius.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have two Indian Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. The team has reached the finals four times including this year. Back in 2012 in pursuit of lifting the first-ever trophy, KKR defeated the Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets in the summit clash. In 2014 they faced the Punjab Kings in the finals and emerged victorious by 3 wickets.

On the contrary, SRH have reached the finals of IPL only three times, (including the 17th season) in - 2016 vs RCB, 2018 vs CSK, and 2024 Vs KKR. SunRisers Hyderabad stands with Rajasthan Royals in having only one title, which adds them to the club of trophy holders.

KKR and SRH have faced each other on 27 occasions in Indian Premier League history. Shreyas Iyer’s side have won 18 while SRH have won just nine but will be looking to take the most important fixture of them on Sunday. 

The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is 61 metres and 72 metres square boundaries. SRH will know the track very well as they have played in the Qualifier 2. The Chepauk track could be 175-180 type wicket and also toss could become crucial. Batting first here could be vital.

Sunrisers Hyderabad win the toss and opt to bat first.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan.

The red clay mostly offers more bounce than the black one. I anticipate it could be a 180-190-pitch. Spin might not be significant. Cutters will likely come into play for seamers.

KKR Impact Players: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, KS Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford

SRH Impact players Abdul Samad, Mayank Markande, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik

The Game Will Start with the Indian national anthem today.

Mitchell Starc steps up to bowl for KKR, while SRH relies on their usual pair, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head.

Off to a striking start Mitchell Starc, from KKR, seizes the first wicket of the match. His swift action sets the tone for an intense showdown between the teams.

SRH 3/1

Vaibhav Arora was bowling from the other end with Tripathi at the crease. The first delivery saw an outside edge from Tripathi, but it didn't carry to the keeper. Tripathi tried to unsettle the bowler on the third ball, aiming over mid-off but missed, resulting in a dot ball. He managed to get two leg byes on the fourth ball. On the fifth ball, Tripathi hit to deep square leg for a single. Unfortunately, Travis Head got out without scoring, caught behind on the next delivery. Arora's delivery tailed away from the left-hander, causing Head to edge the ball a little more.

SRH 18/2

Mitchell Starc's strategic bowling setup leads to the downfall of Rahul Tripathi, as the batsman falls victim to a well-executed plan. Tripathi, aiming to counter Starc's pace, finds himself trapped in a cleverly laid trap, offering a catch opportunity. Ramandeep capitalizes on the chance with a catch, securing the crucial wicket for his team.

SRH 23/3

A hit-me ball and Nitish takes maximum toll and hits a six, followed by a single and then a four again.

SRH 47/3

In the 9th over, Sunrisers Hyderabad faced a setback, losing four crucial wickets. Despite a slower pace, there's hope that these two players can turn things around. Klassen's recent boundary adds to the hope.

SRH 61/4

With Shahbaz getting out never looked confident against Varun. It's fuller around off from Varun, Shahbaz goes for a sweep only to top-edge it to short fine leg, where Narine paddles back to take it comfortably

After Heinrich Klaasen got out. A full and angling in at 141.1kph, Unadkat attempted to flick it away but missed, getting struck on the pads. An appeal for lbw followed but was denied, as it seemed the ball was heading down the leg side. Gurbaz gestured the same, but Harshit appeared to have persuaded his captain otherwise. Though the delivery pitched around off, the impact was judged to be down the leg side.

SRH 90/8

Russell to Cummins, caught by Starc!! SRH bowled out for 113. Starc redeems himself after an earlier drop. Russell concludes with a 3-wicket haul. The delivery was full and fast, right in the slot. Cummins manages to connect cleanly but lacks elevation, hitting it flat and straight to long-on. Starc hardly moves as he takes the straightforward catch.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's total of 113 runs in the IPL final marks the lowest score in the history of the tournament's final matches. Now, the question looms: Can Kolkata Knight Riders successfully chase down this target to take the cup home?

Six, then Out! Cummins Strikes with His Second Ball. A Length Delivery on Leg Stump, Narine Gets Cramped for Room. He Steps Outside Leg Stump, Attempting to Work it Away, but Ends up with a Big Top Edge. Shahbaz Charges in from Deep Midwicket and Makes No Mistake with the Catch.

SRH 13/1

Iyer's contribution has been significant, punctuated by two sixes, a four, and several singles, all of which serve to bolster Kolkata Knight Riders' dominance on the field.

KKR 38/1

Pat Cummins comes back into the attack. Cummins to Gurbaz, FOUR! A short ball into the body, and Gurbaz swivels to pull it for a boundary. This shot takes KKR to 50 runs. With six runs off this over, KKR now needs just 62 off 90 deliveries.

A slower delivery outside off, Gurbaz moves across and inside the line of the ball, sweeping it over short fine leg. The ball hits the boundary cushion on the full.

Down the track, gets to the pitch of the ball, and launches it over the bowler's head. KKR just 12 away now.

AND THE CHAMPIONS ARE HERE. Kolkata Knight Riders beat SunRisers Hyderabad in the final of Indian Premier League 2024 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday with 114/2 in 10.3 overs. KKR won their third IPL title by 8 wickets.

I want to share one short story that when GG bhaiya was named mentor, I sent him a long message. But he said he would be happy if we stood at the podium.

KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan is elated over the victory of KKR, he hugs his family and friends. Meanwhile, SRH owner Kavya Maran is teary eyed. Her team fought well till the previous game but was simply outplayed by KKR tonight.

My mom is watching from the home. She is feeling good now. I asked mom before the match if she wanted anything. She said just the win. When Salt was playing, I wasn't expecting to get a chance but I knew it's a long tournament and I needed to be ready. Once I got the chance, I was well prepared.

What a season. Probably the two most exciting teams in the final. It was awkward journey. I think we had a fantastic squad and we remained such a consistent side with contributions from everyone. That was a big part of our success. We lost the toss and got to use to the ball first. Having watched the game two nights before here, we didn't know what to expect but the bowling unit showed all the skills they have and the wicket-taking balls. There have been plenty of jokes. A lot has been made of the money. I am older and experienced now, so that helped to deal with all that and leading the attack. It was a lot of fun for me personally and we have got an exciting attack. Will be great to see how they go.

I feel they bowled fantastically. We were outplayed. They didn't give us anything. Just like the last game in Ahmedabad. It was a tricky wicket. Didn't feel like a 200-plus wicket. 160 would have given us a chance. The style of our play, particularly with the bat, scoring 250 three times. So it was a great season. I had not worked with many of the guys before but it was great working with them. A really great squad and the staff was amazing. Had a great time. We play a lot in India but in front of a sea of blue. So it was good to have crowd on our side at times.

It was comprehensive. This is what we demanded from the players and they stood up. Today, we were lucky enough to bowl first. Everything went in our way. Congrats to SRH for the way they played throughout. It was a high-pressure game and Mitchell Starc had been so good off-field. Phenomenal work ethic, something to learn for youngsters. Russell has got a magic wand and he is looking towards me to bowl. In the majority of the games he gave us breakthroughs. Venkatesh Iyer made things easy for us. As I said earlier, everyone stepped up. There was no one individual who took us here; it was a cumulative effort. It was a flawless season for us.

With KKR lifting the trophy, the Indian Premier League comes to an end. We will see you again, with more sporting updates. Till then, Bidaya (Bye In Bengali)