IPL 2024 has a new champion. It is the Kolkata Knight Riders who take the trophy for the third time. Beating out the Sunrisers Hyderabad in a somewhat tame IPL 2024 final. The game provided no nail-biting finish or big scores. Instead, it came down to some solid bowling from KKR, which restricted the explosive batting lineup of the South Indian team. Having dismissed the Sunrisers for a paltry 113, all the KKR batsman had to do was settle in, play the ball on merit, and wait for the result to come.
Which is exactly what they did. Once the Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t lose too many wickets in the powerplay, the game was all but done. The question is, how did it become so easy at the end? What set of factors paved the way for what was ultimately an easy win for the team from West Bengal? The answer we will explore in this overview of the IPL 2024 final.
A Cracking Start for the Kolkata Knight Riders
Going into the final, everyone knew that the Sunrisers Hyderabad had arguably the most explosive batting lineup in the tournament. With the likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram in the middle and the most devastating opening pair in the league: Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. The key for KKR was getting one of these two out cheaply and, by all means, avoiding the emergence of a devastating partnership where they take the opposition bowling apart. And that is exactly what the Kolkata Knight Riders managed.
It was led by ace pacer Mitchell Starc, who led the way with a critical strike in the first over, knocking over one of the dangerous men, Abhishek Sharma, for 2 with a peach of a delivery. This meant a lot of responsibility fell on the shoulders of the senior partner Travis Head, but then he was felled by another great delivery, this time from Vaibhav Arora. With both openers dismissed cheaply, it soon became apparent that this was not going to be one of those blistering starts and later big scores that SRH has been in the habit of making in IPL 2024.
A Magnificent Spell by Andre Russell in the IPL 2024 Final
KKR are blessed with two of the best all-rounders in the tournament. Both players are from the Caribbean. They are Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Narine had a relatively quiet evening, but by no means a bad one. Picking up one wicket and giving away only 16 runs in his four overs, and hitting a solitary six, the only scoring shot, off the bat.
But if Starc and Arora gave the Kolkata Knight Riders the start they needed with the ball at the top, then it was Andre Russell who, along with Harshit Rana, did the restricting and later clean-up job, skittling the powerful SRH batting unit to score that was well below par. Throughout the tournament, Andre Russell has shown the knack of picking up crucial wickets when bowling at crucial times of the game. And this year’s IPL final was no different.
Taking the key wicket of Aiden Markram for 20 in the 11th over just when the Sunrisers were in the process of rebuilding their innings came as a big blow. Then, only giving away 19 runs in 2.3 overs is a great result in T20 conditions, and it closes things off with the last wicket of captain Pat Cummins.
The KKR Chase: Down and Dusted
Little needs to be said about the run chase by Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite losing Sunil Narine early, the opposition never looked like they were in the game. With a solid 200 strike rate, fifty by Venkatesh Iyer meant that the game was done in 10.3 overs. Looking back, SRH won a good toss but failed to capitalize. This happens in cricket. Too reliant on the opening pair to give them great starts faltered, and with it, the team in the IPL 2024 final.
About the Author
Damian Thar writes on a range of topics. In addition to his professional work, he writes essays on subjects like philosophy, history, and culture. He also writes and edits books, and in his free time, he makes YouTube videos on topics like religion, theology, and current events. You can find his work here.
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