IPL's costliest buy Mitchell 'Star'c helps KKR beat SRH to win league title a 3rd time

CHENNAI: The team that spent a king’s ransom, or perhaps we should tweak it to knight’s ransom, on an individual at the IPL auction last December ended up winning the biggest prize in domestic T20 leagues. And interestingly the team that spent the second highest amount went on to finish as runner-up. This introduction should suffice as to who won the Indian Premier League 2024 edition. One thing got confirmed on Sunday. Pat Cummins is no King Midas, as his hitherto flawless record of not losing in finals ended rather meekly with Kolkata Knight Riders inflicting an eight-wicket thrashing on Sunrisers Hyderabad to win the trophy for the third time.

The final was a replica of Qualifier 1 these two teams played barely five nights previously when Kolkata, aided by its bowlers’ superlative effort, won by an identical margin. Kolkata’s inexorable march to the title became certain as early as in the first over of the final that unmistakably set the tone for what was to unfold.

Wasim Akram is no longer the bowling coach of Kolkata, but he would certainly have been mighty pleased with the peach that Mitchell Starc bowled to remove Abhishek Sharma off the fifth ball. The ball had shades of the left-arm wizard’s similarly unplayable delivery to Allan Lamb on an eventful evening at the MCG more than three decades ago. If Akram had played an instrumental role in his team’s World Cup triumph on March 25, 1992, it was the turn of Starc to help his team end a decade-long wait for the trophy whose allure keeps growing year on year.

Also Read: IPL 2024 Final LIVE UPDATES - KKR beats SRH by 8 wickets; clinches title for the third time

Starc’s knack for taking the opposition’s prized scalp in the first over of the finals is well-documented. Just ask another former KKR player and coach Brendon McCullum if you are still not convinced of his first over potency. Vaibhav Arora then jumped on the wicket-taking bandwagon, removing Travis Head for this third duck in last four outings resulting in a queasy feeling of paranoia percolating through the team’s visibly shaken dug-out. None of the SRH batters that followed offered any semblance of resistance and dire capitulation ensued, robbing the final of a humdinger akin to last year’s. All six bowlers employed by KKR captain Shreyas Iyer repaid his faith tellingly to limit SRH to 113 in 18.3 overs.

Hyderabad’s bowlers fared little better than their batters with their body language exuding no stomach for a fight. Despite Sunil Narine getting out cheaply, KKR had the match in its pocket with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 39 (32b, 54, 26) and Venkatesh Iyer who scored a sublime 52 not out (26b, 4x4, 3x6), combining to add 91 runs for the second wicket to take their side to the doorstep of a glorious and thoroughly deserving triumph. That KKR completed the chase with close to 10 overs remaining provided more than a glimpse into its dominance.

BRIEF SCORES: Sunrisers Hyderabad 113 in 18.3 overs (Andre Russell 3/19) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 114/2 in 10.3 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 52 n.o.)