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KKR Thrash SRH In One-Sided Final To Win Their Third Title

The IPL 2024 final was a highly anticipated event. A lot of fireworks were expected, with two powerhouse teams going against each other, but that is not how the final turned out. IPL fans expected a high-scoring close match, but the reality was completely in contrast to this. KKR walked all over SRH in the one-sided final, completely dominating them. KKR got their opposition out for just 113 runs and chased the total down in just 10.3 overs, making the IPL 2024 final arguably the most one-sided final we have ever seen.

SRH Win The Toss And Choose To Bat First

Sunrisers Hyderabad looked really comfortable batting first throughout the IPL. Some people thought that they would change this tactic of theirs and opt to bowl first, but they stuck to their guns. Pat Cummins won the toss and revealed that Sunrisers Hyderabad would be batting first. The groundsmen said that there would be no dew, which is probably why SRH decided to bat first. SRH’s openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, lit up IPL 2024 while opening, and they hoped they would continue to do the same. However, it did not end up going exactly as planned.

Mitchell Starc Steps Up For KKR

Big player steps up on the big night!!

Mitchell Starc – Man of the Match in the final of #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/MBGODIXSia

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 27, 2024

Mitchell Starc had quite a disappointing season for Kolkata Knight Riders before the playoffs. Although the franchise broke the bank to sign him for a whopping ₹24.75 Crore, making him the highest-paid IPL player ever, Starc did not live up to the hype. He was not picking enough wickets and was leaking way too many runs. However, all of this changed when in the playoffs. KKR finished 1st on the IPL table and, therefore, had to play just two knockout games on their path to the IPL 2024 title.

In the first qualifier against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Starc was awarded the man of the match award for picking up three wickets and conceding just 34 runs in his four overs. He picked up crucial wickets of Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Shahbaz Ahmed to help KKR restrict SRH to a low total of 159, which was chased down easily. This win sent KKR straight into the finals.

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SRH managed to win the second qualifier and reach the finals to face KKR in the playoffs again. It was Mitchell Starc who stepped up for KKR once again. He picked up the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, starting the collapse of SRH’s batting order. He ended up bowling three overs and picking up two wickets while conceding just 14 runs. Mitchell Starc was awarded the man of the match in both of KKR’s playoff games, and it is fair to say that the fans will be more than happy to pay his ₹24.75 Crore fee in exchange for the title-winning performances that Starc delivered for them.

SRH Batting Order Collapse

Credit: ESPNcricinfo

Although SRH bossed the group stages of IPL, with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma hitting boundaries for fun, this came back to bite them later. They relied too much on their openers, giving them a strong start, and when they failed, the middle order struggled to get runs on the board. This same thing happened in the final as well. Abhishek Sharma scored just two runs, while Travis Head got out on zero. The SRH middle order struggled to get into any kind of rhythm and kept losing wickets. In the end, Pat Cummins, with 24 runs, ended up being their top scorer as they set a measly target of 114 for KKR to chase down.

KKR Lose An Early Wicket

While trying to protect such a low total, early wickets are very important. A glimmer of hope was given to the SRH fans in the second over itself. Pat Cummins managed to get the big wicket of the dangerous Sunil Narine. While the task ahead was still humongous, it was a good start. The wicket of Narine seemed to instil some life into SRH players and fans alike, and it looked like the chase would not be as straightforward for KKR as once thought.

Venkatesh Iyer Puts The Game Beyond SRH’s Reach

Credit: India Today

Even the most confident of KKR fans must have felt a twinge of nervousness watching Sunil Narine get out so early. However, none of these nerves seemed to be affecting Venkatesh Iyer at all. In the over, after the wicket fell, Venkatesh Iyer decided to target Bhuvneshwar Kumar, starting the over with a four and two sixes. Twenty runs came off the third over, and this is where the match went completely out of SRH’s hands.

Venkatesh Iyer did not stop there. He continued his onslaught on the bowlers, scoring 52 runs and remaining not out in 26 balls. He helped KKR chase down the total in just 10.3 overs and helped his team clinch the IPL trophy with ease. KKR finally managed to get their hands on the trophy nearly a decade after their last win. This is their 3rd IPL title, which puts them one step closer to the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, who have won five titles each.

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