Kolkata Knight Riders made it to the IPL 2024 Final with a eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, May 21.
With a target of 160, Kolkata Knight Riders chased it down in just 13.4 over, thanks to brilliant half-centuries by Shreyas Iyer (58*) and Venkatesh Iyer (51*). The Iyer pair formed an unbeaten 97-run partnership to help KKR pull off the chase and help them qualify for the IPL Final for the fourth time.
For Sunrisers Hyderabadad, Pat Cummins and T Natarajan picked a wicket each. Travis Head had a forgettable day not just with the bat but also with the ball as he conceded 32 runs with an economy rate of 19.2 overs in 1.2 overs.
2nd Innings update:
Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer took charge of KKR's run-chase and steaded the innings. At the end of 10 overs, KKR posted a total of 107/2, with Venkatesh and Shreyas batting on 38 and 14, respectively.
Sunil Narine carried on KKR's innings and scored 21 off 16 balls until he was dismissed by Pat Cummins at 67/2.
Chasing a 160-run target, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine gave a brilliant start to their innings and the duo formed a 44-run stand for the opening wicket until Gurbaz was dismissed for 23.
1st Innings Update:
The Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to bowl out Sunrisers Hyderabad for a below par score of 169 in 19.3 overs after being asked to field first by Pat Cummins.
The decision backfired for Cummins as his Australia teammate Mitchell Starc ran through the SRH top-order with 3 wickets in 2 overs.
Rahul Tripathi (55), Cummins (30) and Heinrich Klaasen (32) played crucial knocks for Hyderabad to help them recover from 39 for 4 in the powerplay thanks to Starc's fiery first spell.
Mitch Starc opens up on his 3-wicket haul
"I have been fortunate enough to play on some big occasions, nice to get our team off to a good start, we know how SRH matched us in terms of attacking with the bat in the powerplay. Their (Head and Abhishek) partnership has been the key for them and to get both of them out cheaply, it's really pleasing. The wicket's got a bit skidier and there is some swing as well, I feel the wicket will get better with dew and the powerplay will be really key for us," Starc said on Star Sports at the mid-innings break.
Starc finds top form
After Mitchell Starc blew SRH's top-order, Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen steadied the batting. The pair accelerated Sunrisers Hyderabad's innings. SRH were 92/4 in 10 overs, with Abhishek and Klaasen batting on 45 and 30, respectively.
Mitchell Starc is all over Sunrisers Hyderabad like a bad rash after blowing away the opposition top-order in 3 overs. Starc removed Travis Head (0), Nitish Reddy (9) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0) to stun SRH, who have been reduced to 39 for 4 in 5 overs.
KKR have made the perfect start to their bowling innings by getting rid of the dangerous SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma in the first two overs after being asked to field first by Pat Cummins.
Starc castled Travis Head for a duck with the 2nd delivery of the match before Vaibhav Arora had Sharma caught at cover for 3 to reduce SRH to 13 for 2 in 2 overs.
Toss Update:
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins wins the toss and elects to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
SRH are unchanged while KKR have brought in Rahmanullah Gurbaz in place of Phil Salt for this crucial knockout game, the winner of which will go straight to the final. Salt went back home to England last week.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): 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 (Playing XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, KS Bharat, Sherfaine Rutherford
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Sanvir Singh, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat
Pitch Report
The playing surface appears slightly dry. It will favor bowlers employing off-pace deliveries. In certain regions, particularly near the optimal length, there exists a trace of moisture, albeit minimal. It's solid. The big hitters are poised to exert significant influence; it resembles an advantageous batting track. It's unlikely to offer substantial spin, reckons Matthew Hayden in his pitch analysis.
KKR vs SRH Preview:
The Indian Premier League 2024 has reached its business end with just 4 blockbuster games left to decide the new winner of the cash-rich league.
The beginning of the IPL 2024 playoffs will witness the table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The clash between the top-two teams in the league stage promises to be a mouth-watering contest with big-hitting batters and top-class bowlers in both sides.
KKR defeated SRH at the Eden Gardens in the only match between these two teams this season therefore, revenge will be on Hyderabad's mind at Motor.
The winner of this match will directly qualify for the final while the loser will play the winner of the Eliminator between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, Srikar Bharat, Sherfane Rutherford, Dushmantha Chameera, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sakib Hussain, Suyash Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar, Chetan Sakariya
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Mayank Markande, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh
