Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) co-owner Shahrukh Khan gave the skipper Shreyas Iyer a warm hug after the latter captained the franchise to the IPL 2024 final with a win over the SunRisers Hyderabad on Tuesday in Qualifier 1. In a video that emerged on social media, the Bollywood superstar hugged the right-handed batter quite affectionately.
Shreyas Iyer marshalled his troops brilliantly even as they lost the toss on Tuesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After Mitchell Starc's incisive opening spell limited the SunRisers to 159, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer clobbered half-centuries of the highest class to help their side chase the target only in 13.3 overs with 8 wickets to spare.
"The attitude and approach automatically changes" - Shreyas Iyer
Skipper Shreyas Iyer, who hit the winning runs, attributed KKR's energetic attitude on the field to SRK lifting their spirits.
"His presence itself gets that zest in that team environment and the attitude and approach automatically changes. I think it's the perception over here and you see when the boys came on the field and everyone wanted to chip in with their contributions and everyone delivered at the right time."
The Knight Riders have a chance of lifting their 3rd title and have already won 2 out of 3 IPL finals. Their only loss came in the 2021 edition to the Chennai Super Kings in Dubai. KKR will either face the Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru or SunRisers Hyderabad in the final.
