The Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders had a great day in office as it crashed SunRisers Hyderabad to enter the IPL 2024 final. the team chased down a 160-run target in less than 14 overs to stamp their authority. Mitchell Starc-powered Kolkata Knight Riders' juggernaut rolled into the IPL final as the two-time champions produced a ruthless performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad for an eight-wicket win in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. Starc produced a stunning opening burst of three wickets in the powerplay to break the back of SRH's dangerous batting.
They were eventually shot out for a mere 159 in 19.3 overs with Rahul Tripathi scoring a vital 55 while Heinrich Klaasen (32) and Pat Cummins (30) also fought hard.
On a benign wicket in steaming hot conditions, SRH's fight petered out as KKR knocked off the innocuous 160-run target in a mere 13.4 overs with skipper Shreyas Iyer (58 not out off 24) and Venkatesh Iyer (51 not out off 28) taking them over the line.
After the win, Shah Rukh took a lap of honour at the Narendra Modi Stadium. But mistakenly he walked in front of a talk show of the broadcasters and interrupted the chat. He instantly regretted the decision and apologised to Aakash Chopra, Suresh Raina and Parthiv Patel.
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins urged his team to forget the heavy defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders and concentrate on the second IPL Qualifier, saying there are days in T20 cricket when things just don't work out. SRH were handed an eight-wicket hammering by KKR in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday.
The Cummins-led side will get another crack at making the final. SRH will take the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai on Friday.
"We will try to put this day behind quickly, good thing we will have a crack at it (qualifier 2).
"You have these days in T20 cricket, when it doesn't work out. We had few starts but didn't go on with bat. Not good with the ball. We weren't where we wanted with the bat and obviously couldn't do much with the ball." "We all have played enough cricket, and going to a new venue (Chennai) helps us as well, so we got to keep this behind and move on." Pacer Mitchel Starc was adjudged player of the match for his sensational bowling up front when he claimed the scalps of Travis Head, Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed in the powerplay.
"We know how important the powerplay is. These were the two sides who have dominated in the powerplay with the bat. We needed to pick early wickets and get into their middle-order.
"The way Head and Abhishek have been playing thoughout the tournament, they like width and free their arms. We just tried to swing the ball and not provide them width. Bowl stump to stump and tried the hard length. The spinners were effective and the whole bowling department was great.
On Head's scalp, he said: "Got lucky I guess, was nice to see his back early, not always the case." Winning skipper Shreyas Iyer was elated by the result and said the unplanned 10-day break the team got due to two washed-out matches helped the players rejuvenate.
"The rejuvenation was important for us. When you travel so much. It's important to stay in the present. Today was the day we had to maximise, we did it and that's what we thrive on.
"The way every bowler stood up to this occasion, the way they came in and took wickets, that was imperative. The attitude and approach of all bowlers was to take wickets and they did."
With PTI inputs