Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has opened up on his mother's recovery status after the franchise made it to the IPL 2024 final. The youngster revealed that he understood the need for his services by the Knight Riders after Phil Salt left the camp ahead of the playoffs.
Gurbaz had played fairly consistently after joining the Knight Riders in IPL 2023, but hadn't got an opportunity as Phil Salt and Sunil Narine made merry at the top of the order. The right-handed batter played an instrumental role in laying the foundation for KKR's eight-wicket win over the SunRisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 by stitching a 44-run opening stand with Sunil Narine.
Speaking at a presser after KKR's win, Gurbaz claimed:
"My mother is still recovering in the hospital, I speak to her every day. But I knew my KKR family needed me here once Phil Salt left. So I came back from Afghanistan, and I'm happy to be here. My mother is happy for me too."
KKR reach their 4th IPL final:
The eight-wicket victory ensured that the Knight Riders had reached their 4th IPL final. Before Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer slammed half-centuries, Mitchell Starc ripped apart SunRisers Hyderabad's batting unit, starting by dismissing Travis Head for a two-ball duck. He finished as the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-34-3.
The Knight Riders have won 2 out of 3 finals thus far, with the only defeat coming to the Chennai Super Kings in the 2021 edition.
