Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured a spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final by defeating SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1. KKR chased down the target of 160 runs with ease, winning by eight wickets with more than six overs to spare. They will face either SRH or the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final on Sunday, May 26.
Before the tournament began, KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir inspired the team with a passionate speech. He emphasized the importance of reaching the final and winning the IPL. Gambhir’s speech has recently gone viral on social media following KKR’s victory.
“Everyone in this group will be treated equally. There is no senior-junior, there is no domestic-international because we have got one mission that is to win this IPL. So everyone needs to follow that one simple path. On 26th May, we should be there, giving everything positive and it starts from today,” Gambhir said ahead of IPL 2024.
KKR’s Mitchell Starc shines with three wickets against SRH
Mitchell Starc, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for 24.75 crores, had a great game. He took three wickets quickly to help KKR bowl out Sunrisers Hyderabad for 159 runs at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Starc’s first wicket came with the second ball of the match when he got Travis Head out for a second duck in the T20 tournament.
Then, in his third over, Starc took two more wickets in successive balls. This made things tough for Hyderabad as they slipped to 39-4 in just five overs.
Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen tried to resist with a partnership of 62 runs. But Varun Chakravarthy broke through by dismissing Klaasen.
Shreyas, the KKR captain, praised his bowlers for their performance. He said their attitude to take wickets was crucial.
Tripathi got run out, and wickets kept falling. But Pat Cummins added some runs with his quick innings of 30 runs from 24 balls.
In response, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine gave Kolkata a good start. Gurbaz scored 23 runs off 14 balls, and Narine made 21 before getting out to Cummins.
Venkatesh and Shreyas then played well, with Venkatesh staying unbeaten as they guided KKR to victory with a partnership of 97 runs.
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