Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Qualifier 1, IPL 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: Kolkata Knight Riders are on roll this year! They were the first team to get into the playoffs, they are the first team to qualify for the IPL 2024 finale of May 26 on Sunday. Shreyas Iyer & co defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets with 38 balls to spare. This is the fourth time in the history of IPL that KKR will be playing the final match.
Earlier in the day, Mitchell Starc, IPL’s costliest buy, delivered a sensational three-wicket burst, leading Kolkata Knight Riders to bowl out Sunrisers Hyderabad for a below-par 159 in Qualifier 1. Starc struck on the second ball, dismissing Travis Head, followed by wickets of Nitish Reddy (9) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0) inside the powerplay, leaving SRH reeling at 39/3. Despite Rahul Tripathi’s counterattack with 55 off 35, SRH couldn’t recover. Heinrich Klaasen contributed 32, but SRH’s batting collapsed. Pat Cummins added a crucial 30 off 24, partnering with Vijayakanth Viyaskanth for a 33-run last-wicket stand to push SRH past 150. Starc’s opening spell of 3-0-22-3 set the tone for KKR’s dominance.
In reply, KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer and top order batter Venkatesh Iyer added 97 runs for the third wicket stand that sealed the finale spot for the Purple Army! KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan was seen greeting the audience with ‘lorbo, korbo, jeetbo’ theme song playing at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Indian Premier League, 2024
Kolkata Knight Riders
164/2 (13.4)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
159 (19.3)
Match Ended ( Day – Qualifier 1 )
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets
Here are key moments of KKR vs SRH Qualifier 1 Match 71
Kolkata Knight Riders advance to the IPL final after Shreyas Iyer and his team defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets. KKR dominated with both the ball and the bat, securing their spot in the IPL final on May 26 with a comprehensive performance.
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1792967267984257416
In what promises to be a showdown of nerves and skill, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are set to clash in the high-stakes first eliminator of the IPL 2024 on Wednesday. For captains Sanju Samson and Faf du Plessis, the margin for error is razor-thin, as a single misstep could bring an abrupt end to their tournament dreams. (READ MORE)
Pat Cummins dismisses Sunil Narine, bowling a short delivery that Narine hits to deep midwicket, where he is caught. Skipper Shreyas Iyer joins Venkatesh Iyer in the middle.
KKR are 74/2 in 6.5 overs
Kolkata have begun their chase very well. They have already got fifty on the board. They have lost one wicket (Gurbaz). Narine looks dangerous.
KKR are 57/1 in 4.3 overs
The match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be played on May 21. Eliminator game, set to be played on Wednesday will mark the second major showdown of the playoffs. The IPL 2024 match between RR and RCB will take place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, May 22, starting at 7:30 pm IST. (READ MORE)
In absence of Phil Salt, Rahmanullah Gurbaz has opened with Sunil Narine. SRH lost two reviews as Kolkata's chase begins on easy note.
KKR are 31/0 in 2.2 overs
Kolkata spinners and magic of Mitch Starc bowled out Sunrisers Hyderabad for a sub-par total of 159 in 19.3 overs
In last 17 runs that SRH have scored, they have lost 4 wickets!
Another ball, another wicket! Just what we were saying a while back. We don't know whether SRH will be able to play entire 20 overs or not. And it seems, this is dangeroulsy looking like a reality. Varun Chakravarthy dimmisses Bhuvi (LBW)
SRH are 126/9 in 16.1 overs
Forget what will happen in the death overs. At this moment, it seems that SRH may not be able to play all 20 overs. They have lost seven wickets - two of these departures happened in Sunil Narine's over. An unfortunate runout - Rahul Tripathi and Sanvir Singh getting clean-bowled! And just as I am writing this, Harshit Rana dismisses Abdul Samad (16).
Just when SRH were celebrating Tripathi's gutsy half-century, Rinku Singh took an easy catch and broke the fifth wicket stand. Klassen departs for 32. First wicket for spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
51 from 29 comes up from the partnership of Klassen and Tripathi. After the disastrous start in the powerplay, this 5th wicket stand is keeping the Orange Army in the hunt
It has been a painful fifty for Sunrisers as they lost four wickets inside the powerplay. This is the second time in this season of IPL that they have scored such a low powerplay total. With boundaries drying up and runs coming in singles, SRH need a solid partnership between Tripathi and Klassen to overcome this horrendous start.
This is Mitch Starc world and we are living in it! This man is on fire tonight! Taking two wickets off two deliveries - Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed - Starc has brought Hyderabad on knees.
Rahul Tripathi is anchoring the innings after the openers fell early. Nitish Reddy is acting a perfect partner. Tripathi has smashed four boundaries so far. One good thing for SRH is that despite losing wickets, they have not let the run rate to dip.
This is absolutely insane, for Hyderabad. Because Kolkata are flying high at Motera! Juts recovering from Travis Head's wicket, SRH lose second wicket in form of Abhishek Sharam (3) thanks to a brilliant catch by Andre Russell.
"We would be putting our best foot forward, hoping to give you the best experience. We want you to keep the stadium's atmosphere electrifying, the way you have been throughout, and just keep backing the players," Shreyas said in a Star Sports video.
SRH are 13/1 in 1.3 overs
Remember how Kolkata Knight Riders spent Rs 24.75 crore for Mitch Starc at IPL 2024 auctions. He has been criticized for giving a sub-par performance. But today, Starc delivered and showed why KKR paid top dollars for this Aussie.
SRH are 12/1 1.2 overs
What a magnificent start for Kolkata Knight Riders! Aussie gets Aussie - Bowing first over, Mitch Starc removes Travis Head for 0. CLEAN BOWLED! Rahul Tripathi joined Abhishek Sharma. There was another appeal by all fired up Starc in another delivery but umpire didn't say much.
Here's what Travis Head said just before the match! A throwback to November 19, 2023?
https://twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra/status/1792913496969244679
R. Gurbaz (wk), S. Narine, V. Iyer, S. Iyer (c), R. Singh, A. Russell, R. Singh, M. Starc, H. Rana, V. Chakaravarthy, V. Arora.
A. Sharma, T. Head, R. Tripathi, N. Reddy, H. Klaasen (wk), A. Samad, S. Ahmed, T. Natarajan, P. Cummins (c), B. Kumar, V. Viyaskanth.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have won the toss and skipper Pat Cummins has decided to bat first.
SRH, on the other hand, have qualified for the playoffs for 11 times. Out of these, the Orange Army have posted win on five occasions.
Out of 13 times that KKR have made it to the playoffs, they have won 8 times.
West Indies pacer Andre Russell has dismissed Abhishek Sharma twice in just 10 deliveries, conceding only 11 runs to the SRH batter. Given this record, should KKR deploy Russell early in the powerplay? Notably, Russell has yet to take a wicket in Ahmedabad.
As we have said earlier also, this edition of IPL has seen some of the most spectacular power-hitting! Here's a look at the players who have hit most sixes inside the powerplay
Abhishek Sharma - 28
Travis Head - 22
Jake Fraser-McGurk - 21