IPL 2024, Qualifier 1: KKR Qualify For Final With Dominating 8-Wkt Win Over SRH

IPL 2024 | Mitchell Starc's three-fer restricted SRH to 159 runs in 19.3 overs in the first innings.

KKR beat SRH by 8 wickets to seal a spot in the IPL 2024 final.

Image: BCCI

Mitchell Starc, Shreyas Iyer, and Venkatesh Iyer powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to an eight-wicket triumph over the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 21 May, securing their spot in the final.

Chasing a modest target of 160 runs, the Knight Riders started strongly with a blazing partnership between openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine. The duo put together a 44-run stand off just 20 balls before Gurbaz was dismissed by T Natarajan in the 4th over.

At the end of the powerplay, KKR’s score stood at 63/1. Shortly after, they lost their second wicket when Sunil Narine was out for 21 runs off 16 balls, falling to Pat Cummins in the 7th over.

Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz put together a 44-run stand off just 20 balls.

Image: BCCI

Shreyas Iyer's Winning Act

Following Narine’s departure, Venkatesh Iyer and captain Shreyas Iyer built a formidable partnership, amassing 97 runs off just 44 balls. Shreyas Iyer concluded the chase in style, hitting a six, a four, and two consecutive maximums to secure an 8-wicket victory for KKR in just 13.4 overs.

Starc's Three-fer 

Earlier, a spirited effort from the bowlers restricted SRH to 159 all out in 19.3 overs. Opting to bat first, Hyderabad did not get the ideal start of the match as they lost attacking opener Travis Head again for a duck. Things got worse well inside the powerplay as they lost three more wickets in the first six overs.

Pacer Mitchell Starc was on a roll as he got three of the four wickets in the powerplay. Abhishek Sharma (3), Nitish Reddy (9), and Shahbaz Ahmed (0) were picked cheaply as Hyderabad's batter faltered in the high-pressure game. SRH were 45/4 after six overs.

However, Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen's presence in the middle gave some respite for the franchise as they played their shots freely despite being under pressure. The duo stitched a quickfire 62-run partnership off 37 balls as Tripathi struck a 29-ball fifty before Varun Chakaravarthy broke the partnership in the 11th over. Klaasen departed after playing a knock of 32 runs.

Cummins' Cameo

Abdul Samad joined Tripathi to take the score further but a mix-up in the middle of the pitch wrapped the latter's innings on 55. His knock included seven fours and a six. In the late middle overs, SRH failed to recover from the situation and kept on losing wickets as Sunil Narine and Harshit Rana also joined the party for KKR.

In the end, captain Pat Cummins played a cameo knock of 30 runs off 24 balls to take his side past the 150-run mark. His late effort was put to an end by Andre Russell in the final over of the innings.

For KKR, Starc was the pick of the bowlers after returning with figures of 3-34 while Chakaravarthy snapped two scalps.

With inputs from IANS.