(Credit IPL)
IPL 2024 Final, KKR vs SRH: The Knight Riders claimed their third title by crushing the SunRisers in the most one-sided final ever. Venkatesh Iyer’s half-century and a stellar bowling performance led KKR to a dominant victory over SRH in the final held in Chennai on Sunday, May 26.
On Sunday, May 26, the Knight Riders secured their third Indian Premier League title. KKR delivered a stunning performance, defeating the SunRisers in what was the most one-sided IPL final to date. They bowled out Pat Cummins’s team for 113 and achieved the target with 57 balls and 8 wickets remaining at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. This dominant display made the IPL 2024 final the shortest in the tournament’s history based on the number of overs played. Shreyas Iyer joined Gautam Gambhir, who led KKR to victory in 2012 and 2014 and was present as a mentor, becoming only the second KKR captain to win the IPL. Iyer also became the fifth Indian captain, following MS Dhoni, Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya, to lead a team to an IPL final triumph.
KKR solidified their reputation as one of the top IPL teams by securing their third title. They now trail only CSK and Mumbai, who each have five championships. Conversely, Pat Cummins experienced his first major tournament final loss in over a year, following his successful leadership of Australia to victories in the World Test Championship and the World Cup final.
ONE SIDED GAME FOR KKR IN THE FINALS
In one of the most lopsided finals in IPL history, Kolkata reinforced their dominance over the SunRisers, defeating Pat Cummins’s team for the third time in the 2024 season. The Knight Riders delivered an all-around performance, while SRH faltered at the worst possible moment. Mitchell Starc proved his worth in high-stakes matches by spearheading KKR’s dismantling of SRH’s top-order. Andre Russell, playing in his first final for KKR, led the bowling attack with 3 wickets.
Venkatesh Iyer was the standout performer with the bat for the Knight Riders, delivering a blistering 24-ball fifty and smashing SRH bowlers all around the ground. The SunRisers, known for revolutionizing power-hitting in IPL 2024, had set the highest tournament total of 287 earlier in the season. However, they crumbled on the final day, getting bowled out for just 113, the lowest total in an IPL final. This was a stark contrast to their earlier performance in Delhi, where they had scored 125 runs in the powerplay. On the crucial day, none of SRH’s key players, including the prominent opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, managed to perform. Captain Pat Cummins was the top scorer with just 24 runs, fighting a lone battle. Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen struggled under the pressure as KKR’s bowlers maintained relentless pressure throughout the innings.
