By Sunrisers Hyderabad’s live-by-the-sword, die-by-it ideology brought their downfall in the first qualifier as Kolkata Knight Riders waltzed into the final of IPL 2024. The table-toppers displayed fine bowling, spearheaded by Mitchell Starc. Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer then powered them through in the chase of SRH’s paltry 159 with eight wickets and 38 balls to spare. This will be KKR’s first IPL final appearance since 2021.
Where was the game won?
SRH were inferior across phases, but KKR pocketed the game with their PowerPlay superiority. While SRH lost their devastating openers and a couple more wickets, KKR comfortably placed themselves with their ninth 60-plus PowerPlay score of the season.
The PowerPlay difference
| Parameters | SRH | KKR |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | 45/4 | 63/1 |
| 4s/6s | 6/0 | 9/2 |
| RR | 7.5 | 10.5 |
Sunrisers Hyderabad
PowerPlay: Mitchell Starc wipes out the top order
Phase score: 45/4 [RR: 7.50, 4s/6s: 6/0]
Two days ago, Arshdeep Singh showed that attacking the stumps early could work against Travis Head. Mitchell Starc took a cue, flooring Head’s middle and off-stump on the second ball of the game. Vaibhav Arora followed up by dismissing Abhishek Sharma in the second over, courtesy of a sharp catch from Andre Russell at cover. Rahul Tripathi looked to attack despite a shaky start, but Starc caused more havoc by removing Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed off successive deliveries in his third PowerPlay over. KKR didn’t concede a single six as SRH limped to their third lowest PowerPlay score this season.
Middle-overs: SRH lose their way after a solid counter-attack
Phase score: 80/4 [RR: 8.89, 4s/6s: 5/4]
Tripathi was lucky to survive beyond the third over when KKR didn’t review an LBW shout. He continued to counter-attack, starting with a ramp shot off Harshit Rana in the eighth over. Tripathi and Klaasen then went after Sunil Narine, hitting 18 in his over. The duo doubled SRH’s PowerPlay score in just four overs. Tripathi reached his 30-ball 50 in the 11th while pushing SRH to 100. Varun CV pulled one back by having Klaasen caught at deep mid-wicket by Rinku Singh for a 21-ball 32. Abdul Samad arrived, tonking the first ball he faced for a six off Narine. KKR ended the phase on top, dismissing Tripathi (run out for a 35-ball 55), impact substitute Sanvir Singh (cleaned up first ball by Narine), and Abdul Samad (caught at long-off off Harshit Rana).
Death-overs: Pat Cummins drags SRH past 150
Phase score: 34/2 [RR: 7.56, 4s/6s: 2/2]
The SRH captain pierced the off-side field behind point against Rana, then played an audacious reverse scoop for a six off Varun CV to drag his team forward. Vijayakanth Viyaskanth played his role in the last-wicket stand, staying away from strike while Cummins added the runs. He mistimed a ball from Starc for a six behind the wicket, then sliced one through the big gap behind point to take the innings into the last over. Three balls in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz got under a top-edge from Cummins to end the SRH innings on 159.
Kolkata Knight Riders
PowerPlay: Gurbaz falls, but KKR flies
Phase score: 63/1 [RR: 10.50, 4s/6s: 9/2]
Sunil Narine drove Pat Cummins on both sides of the wickets to start with two fours. More carnage followed in the over, with four coming off leg byes before Rahmanullah Gurbaz danced down and top-edged a slog for a six over third man. SRH burned both their reviews by the third over in a desperate bid for early breakthroughs. It didn’t come, and KKR’s openers made merry in the presence of dew and absence of swing. T Natarajan dismissed Gurbaz, but that was a small blemish in KKR’s flying PowerPlay as Venkatesh Iyer walked out and swung for the fences.
Middle-overs: Venkatesh and Shreyas Iyer complete KKR’s gallop
Phase score: 101/1 [RR: 13.17, 4s/6s: 8/8]
Cummins saw the back of Narine, but KKR maintained their gallop towards the target through Venkatesh Iyer. SRH didn’t do themselves any favors by fluffing a few chances. Venkatesh got to his 28-ball half-century with a six, forging a big stand with his captain to put the game beyond SRH’s reach. With SRH bringing a batter as an impact substitute, they were forced to get overs from part-time options like Travis Head and Nitish Reddy. Shreyas took advantage, particularly against the Australian, going 6 4 6 in the 14th over to get his 23-ball half-century. On the next ball, he smashed another six to complete the chase in style.
Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 159 in 20 overs (Rahul Tripathi 55, Heinrich Klaasen 32; Mitchell Starc 3-34) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 164/2 in 13.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58, Venkatesh Iyer 51; T Natarajan 1-22) by 8 wickets.
What next?
Both teams travel to Chennai. KKR has four days before the summit clash on Sunday (March 26). SRH will face the winner of the Eliminator between RR and RCB in the second qualifier on Friday (March 24).
