Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sealed their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title in a dominating fashion, trouncing Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by bowling them out for a record low total of 113 in the final match of the 2024 season.
The KKR bowlers, led by Andre Russell, delivered a masterclass in pace and precision, ensuring a comfortable victory.
The SRH innings crumbled early as the much-feared opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were dismissed within the first two overs. This set the tone for a relentless bowling assault from KKR, who maintained pressure throughout, exploiting the conditions to perfection.
Andre Russell was the standout performer with figures of 3 for 19. He was ably supported by Harshit Rana and Mitchell Starc, who took two wickets each. Starc, in particular, was impressive with his spell of 2 for 14, making full use of the overcast conditions.
The SRH batting line-up never got off the ground, with Heinrich Klaasen, Rahul Tripathi, and Nitish Kumar Reddy failing to convert their starts into substantial scores. By the end of the Powerplay, SRH were reeling at 40 for 3, a position from which they never recovered.
Mitchell Starc's first spell was particularly impactful, as he dismissed Abhishek Sharma with a delivery that swung late and clipped the off-bail. Travis Head followed soon after, edging a fuller delivery from Vaibhav Arora to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Head's dismissal marked his third duck in the last four games, capping a disappointing end to his IPL season.
Rahul Tripathi struggled against Starc’s extra pace and bounce, ultimately succumbing to a delivery that ballooned up off his bat for a simple catch. With Starc justifying his hefty price tag with figures of 3-0-14-2, KKR had effectively broken SRH's back in the Powerplay itself.
Post-Powerplay, Heinrich Klaasen attempted to stabilize the innings but fell for 16 off 17 balls. Harshit Rana and Andre Russell tightened the grip, dismissing Nitish Reddy and Aiden Markram, and extinguishing any remaining hopes of a fightback. SRH were eventually bundled out for 113 in 18.3 overs, marking the lowest first-innings total in IPL final history.
The previous lowest total in an IPL final was 129/8 by Mumbai Indians against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, a match that MI won by just one run. In contrast, KKR's victory was far more decisive.
KKR's playing XI featured Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, and Varun Chakaravarthy. Impact substitutes included Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, KS Bharat, and Sherfane Rutherford.
