So, the Kolkata Knight Riders storm into the final of IPL 2024 after a convincing victory over the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Orange Army will now face the winner of tomorrow's Eliminator clash between the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Do join us tomorrow for that mouth-watering clash.
For now, this is me, Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentators AkshayaKrishna Polya, Deepak Prakash, Ajay Pal Singh and scorer Paras Yadav. Until next time, cheers and goodbye.
DID YOU KNOW:A team that has won Qualifier 1 has went onto win the IPL every single time since 2018.
Mitchell Starc (Player of the Match): "Yeah, I mean, we know how important the powerplay is, and obviously, we've probably been two of the sides that have dominated the powerplay with the bat. So, yeah, if we can take early wickets against a team like Hyderabad, it really gets into their middle-order. I think the way Travis and Abhishek have been playing through the tournament shows they like the width to free their arms. If we can get the ball swinging and keep it in line with the stumps while bowling a really hard length, as we did in the powerplay, it will get into their middle order. Our spinners were effective tonight, and our whole bowling unit performed great.
(On Head's wicket) Got lucky, I guess (chuckles). Yeah, Pat, Trav, and me, we've played a bit of cricket here recently, so it was nice to get Trav out early. That's not always the case, but I'm sure in a few nights they'll come out and probably swing it again in the other game.
They're exciting to watch and hugely talented. They're quite a young and raw attack. We've got guys who haven't played yet but are really skillful. As an older player and an overseas player, it's been great to see how they go about their cricket, how they work on their skills, and how hard they train. They're all ready to step in if needed. Guys like Harshit have been phenomenal this year. I think our whole bowling attack has been great. It's hard to single anyone out, but it's been wonderful to see them firsthand. No doubt, they have a lot of wickets in them in the IPL."
Player of the Match: Mitchell Starc
Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders Captain): "Yeah. Elated by the performance. Everyone chipped in and extremely happy with the performances. Everyone took the responsibility.
Absolutely. We kept on traveling from one state to other. It's not easy traveling from Kolkata to Guwahati. We were not thinking about what happened in the past. We just thought we had to maximize tonight.
Brilliant. I think the way each and every bowler stood up to the occasion. Once we went at nine runs per over but the way we came back was brilliant. The attitude from each bowler was to come back and pick wickets which was important.
When you have varieties in the bowling line-up. They have been bowling throughout. They have been true in terms of their techniques. Nobody is taking their place for granted and hopefully, we will continue with the winning momentum.
The way Gurbaz came in. This was his first game. He gave an impactful start for us. Sunil also took on from there. We just had to come in and make sure that we carried forward it.
The communication was a bit difficult with Venkatesh. He used to speak in Tamil and I can understand it but I can't speak. I used to reply in Hindi (laughs).
Right now, it's important for us to enjoy the moment. We have won an important game. Come the match day, we will stay focused. Thank you."
T Natarajan wins the award for bowling 11 dot balls, the most by any bowler tonight.
Most Fours of the Match: Rahul Tripathi (7 Fours)
Super Sixes of the Match: Shreyas Iyer (4 Maximums, Venkatesh Iyer also has 4 sixes but Shreyas hit more runs)
Fantasy Player of the Match: Mitchell Starc (99 Points)