IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Final - Who said What?

Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets to lift the Indian Premier League 2024 trophy for the third time in their history. The Shreyas Iyer-led side was incredible with the ball and rattled Hyderabad right from the start. Hyderabad looked clueless for the entire match as none of their plans worked and neither could they deliver under pressure. SRH always struggled when their openers failed to perform and it wasn’t any different on the night of the finals.

After winning the toss, SRH skipper Pat Cummins decided to bat first, which has been their biggest strength this season. However, they were all over the place in the first innings. Mitchell Starc was phenomenal in the first over as he picked up the key wicket of Abhishek Sharma in the penultimate delivery. It was arguably the ball of the tournament, after which the wickets fell like a house of cards.

In the second over, Vaibhav Arora picked up the wicket of Travis Head. He departed for a golden duck and soon after that, Rahul Tripathi too walked back to the pavilion. Aiden Markram and Nitish Reddy tried to stitch a partnership but that too didn’t work. Harshit Rana picked up key wickets in the middle overs and after which, Andre Russell took care of the business. Towards the end, Pat Cummins made 24 runs but SRH could post only 113 runs.

When it came to the chase, Sunil Narine departed early but nothing could stop KKR. Rahmanullah Gurbaz held one end while Venkatesh Iyer was on fire. The southpaw hit 52 runs off 26 deliveries while Gurbaz made 39 runs as Kolkata picked up a comfortable eight-wicket win. 

Be it with the bat or with the ball, the Knight Riders were extraordinary this season and are the rightful owners of the cup.

3. The pace trio and Russell destroyed Hyderabad

Mitchell Starc started the war, which Andre Russell finished. In the middle, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana picked up key wickets as Hyderabad were bundled cheaply. Starc picked up two wickets in the powerplay, while Vaibhav picked up one. Rana too has two wickets to his name while Andre Russell once again had a brilliant night, picking up three wickets. They picked up a total of eight wickets, which is incredible because the match was played on red soil, which favours the spinners.

Also Read - Watch: Andre Russell breaks down after KKR’s third IPL title

2. Resurrection of Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer faced a lot of criticism in the last couple of years as the cricketer failed to deliver despite being retained by the franchise. In 2024, he answered all the critics by stepping up time and again. Even on the night of the finals, he made a crucial half-century and won it for KKR. After losing Sunil Narine early, Iyer had the option of slowing down but he didn’t and stuck till the end to help KKR lift their third.

3. Give proper credit to Shreyas Iyer

Former cricketer Ian Bishop said this on air and rightfully so as KKR captain Shreyas Iyer deserves a lot of credit. Mentor Gautam Gambhir did a commendable job but most of the on-field decisions were taken by Iyer, which was extremely vital in KKR’s win. 

Losing captain Pat Cummins said:

They bowled fantastically. Not enough tonight, totally outplayed. You hope you get some boundaries away but they bowled fantastically well, didn't give us anything. Similar to how they bowled in Ahmedabad. It was a tricky wicket. If we got 160, we felt we would have been in the game. So many (positives), the style with which the guys played especially with the bat. Lot of skills to get to 250 three times. I loved how brave the guys were. It was a lot of fun, great season. (Experience) It was fantastic, really amazing to work with experienced players like Bhuvi. Bhuvi, NAttu and JD (Unadkat) were great and then lots of young talent. The staff were amazing.

Winning captain Shreyas Iyer said:

Absolutely comprehensive. This is what we demanded from the team and every individual. They stood up to the right occasion and the feeling is hard to express. It (wait) was so long, longer than the match. We played like invincibles throughout the season. There's so much to cherish right now.It is pleasing, the performance has been flawless throughout. I am running out of words right now. We have been tremendous from game one, we stepped up today. All we demanded from ourselves was to back each other whatever the situation is. The game could have either way. They have been playing phenomenal cricket  - SRH - throughout the season. We were lucky to bowl first and every situation went in our favour. Thanks to SRH the way they played. Looking forward to play more competitive cricket.

POTM Mitchell Starc said:

Great night for KKR. What a game, what a season. Probably the two most exciting teams in the final, it was a great final. We have had a fantastic squad of bowlers and batters, our staff have been fantastic to get everyone peaking. We've been such a consistent side, contributions from everyone. We lost the toss and got to use the ball first. Having watched the match a few nights ago here, not really what the wicket was going to do. It was about adapting. Shreyas was fantastic with the way he used the bowlers and fields. Credits to him. The bowling unit showed all the skills. There's been jokes about the money. It's been a long time since I have played the IPL. I am experienced, that's helped with all the expectations. Glad that I am experienced and older. It's been a lot of fun. Full credit to the whole players and staff.

MVP Suni Narine said:

Coming into the ground today, it felt like 2012. The feeling is overwhelming and I couldn;t have asked for a better birthday gift. I am enjoying my cricket at the moment - batting, bowling and fielding. What helps is when the team is winning. (Batting) Getting the role to just go out there and express myself, getting team off to a flyer, the support from GG - that was very good. Salty played an incredible season. We missed him but Gurbaz came in and filled the role. Once you have an opening partner with the same intent, it's good for the team. We always pick early wickets, when we come to bowl, we bowl with less pressure. As a total bowling unit, picking up wickets is key and it helped us win the title.