The final of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) held in Chennai, between KKR and SRH was a one-sided contest. The players in purple ended the impressive streak of Head and Abhishek of SRH with their effective swing and seam bowling. The Starc-led attack might have evoked starkly contrasting emotions for Kavya Maran, CEO of SRH, who had been smiling and celebrating throughout the tournament but was in tears during the final. Pat Cummins, known for his ability to silence the Indian crowd with his bowling, was himself silenced. The KKR cyclone swept through Chennai and claimed the trophy. How did SRH lose, and who were the star performers for KKR? Read on for the complete details…
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Starc- Chief Destroyer
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The Toss and Abhishek-Head Failure
Pat Cummins, the captain of SRH, won the toss and elected to bat in the final. He might have expected Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head to go berserk against KKR, which would have been reasonable, as the pair had amassed 689 runs in just 14 innings with an astonishing strike rate of 227.4 throughout the IPL tournament. However, in the final, they scored only 2 and 0, respectively. The swing of Starc and Arora was too much for them to handle.
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Head-Abhishek Duo
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The Fragile SRH Middle Order and Hyped Klaasen
As the top order collapsed with just 6 runs on the board, Rahul Tripathi joined in, only to depart after scoring 9 runs off 13 balls. South African Aiden Markram played some lofted shots but was dismissed for 20 runs. He was the fifth wicket to fall after Nitish Kumar Reddy was out for 13 runs. Klaasen, much hyped for his power-hitting skills, managed only 16 runs off 17 balls. Pat Cummins fought with the bat to score 24 runs but was eventually silenced by KKR all-rounder Russell.
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Klassen
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The Heroes of KKR—The All-Rounders
KKR players in IPL 2024 played exceptional cricket and stayed at the top of the table, thanks to their all-rounders like Narine and Russell, who silently destroyed the opposition with both bat and ball. Their all-rounder skills were reminiscent of the Daredevils' Kapil Dev-led team of 1983.
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Russell-Narine Duo
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The Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers clinched all 10 SRH wickets in just 18.3 overs, restricting them to 113 runs. Cummins tried to defend the total by taking Narine's wicket with his second ball, but it was ultimately Indian player Venkatesh Iyer who scored 50 runs off 24 balls in front of the Indian crowd in Chennai.
KKR's victory is a testament to the meticulous planning and execution led by their coach, Gautam Gambhir. Not only is Gambhir a phenomenal cricketer and team player, instrumental in India's 2011 World Cup win, but he is also a great human being. Additionally, he is a contender for the Indian National Team coach position.
At Chennai, KKR won their third IPL title, while SRH became the proud runner-up after playing great cricket.