Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched their third Indian Premier League (IPL) championship with an emphatic 8-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final at Chennai's Chepauk Stadium on Sunday. This is KKR's first IPL title since their triumphs in 2012 and 2014.
Chasing a modest target of 114 runs, KKR made light work of the chase, wrapping up the innings in just 10.3 overs after losing two wickets. Venkatesh Iyer was the star for KKR, remaining unbeaten on 52 off just 26 balls, an innings laced with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
He was ably supported by Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz who made 39 off 32 deliveries, striking 5 fours and 2 sixes. Sunil Narine and Shreyas Iyer chipped in with unbeaten knocks of 6 each. Shehbaz Ahmed and Pat Cummins took a wicket apiece for SRH.
Earlier, after being asked to bat first, SRH were bundled out for a paltry 113 in 18.3 overs. Australian pacer Pat Cummins top-scored for them with 24 off 19 balls including 2 fours and a six. Aiden Markram made 20, while Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen contributed 13 and 16 runs respectively.
For KKR, star all-rounder Andre Russell was the wrecker-in-chief, returning figures of 3/19 in 2.3 overs. Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana claimed two wickets each, while Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy picked up a wicket apiece.
In the league stage, KKR topped the table with 20 points from 14 matches, winning 9 and losing 3 games. SRH finished second with 17 points, having won 8 and lost 5 games.
KKR defeated SRH in the first qualifier to make the final, while SRH beat Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier to book their spot in the summit clash.
With this victory, KKR have continued their brilliant record in IPL finals, having won 3 out of the 4 finals they have appeared in. Their dominance was on full display as they outclassed SRH with an all-round performance to lift their third IPL trophy.
