Kolkata Knight Riders clinched their third Indian Premier League title after dismantling the batting powerhouse of Sunrisers Hyderabad for only 113 runs. They went on to win the final by eight wickets with 57 balls to spare.
There were vividly contrasting emotions for two Australians. Mitchell Starc, the Knight Riders’ paceman, took early charge of proceedings and was later named man of the match.
But it was a grim experience for Australia’s Test and one-day international captain Pat Cummins, who leads Hyderabad.
Starc rattled Hyderabad’s top order with 2-14 and all six Kolkata bowlers took wickets before the most aggressive batting team this season was bowled out for the lowest total in the history of IPL finals in 18.3 overs.
Venkatesh Iyer then led Kolkata to 114-2 in 10.3 overs with a blazing 26-ball unbeaten 52. Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 39 in 32.
Kolkata have previously won the IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 and have dominated this season by finishing on top at the end-of-league stage.
They beat Hyderabad both in the league stage and also in the qualifier before routing Cummins’ side in a one-sided final.
Hyderabad had won the toss and chose to bat first but Starc started the rout when he clean bowled Abhishek Sharma with a ball that swung away from the left-hander and knocked back the off stump.
Travis Head, who had scored quick runs for Hyderabad throughout the season, edged Vaibhav Arora’s first ball and went for a golden duck. At 6-2 in two overs, Hyderabad struggled to recover from that double loss.
Starc’s three-over spell in the power play gave Kolkata another wicket when Rahul Tripathi top-edged the Australian left-arm quick.
Andre Russell then mopped up the lower order with 3-19 and Hyderabad were in danger of not even making 100 before Cummins hit 24 off 19 balls and was the last man dismissed in the penultimate over.
Kolkata lost Sunil Narine early in the chase before Iyer, who smashed three sixes and four boundaries, and Gurbaz effectively sealed the game with some aggressive hitting in a 91-run stand.
Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer, who also played in an IPL final for Delhi Capitals in 2020 when his team lost to Mumbai Indians, said: “This is what we demanded from the players and they stood up.
“It’s difficult to express the feelings, so much to cherish right now. There was no one individual who took us here, it was a cumulative effort, it was a flawless season for us.”
“We were outplayed,” Cummins said. “They didn’t give us anything. They bowled fantastically. It was a tricky wicket (and) didn’t feel like a 200-plus wicket, 160 would have given us a chance.”
Source Agencies
