Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who finished top of the table in the IPL 2024 league stage, roared to yet another final in the tournament history after a thumping eight-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. It will be a fourth final for the two-time champions, while SRH will now head to Chennai for face the winner of the Eliminator in the Qualifier 2 of the tournament.
IPL’s costliest buy, Mitchell Starc, finally lived up to the billing as he returned with figures of 3-34, which included a sensational new-ball burst that played a crucial role in helping Kolkata Knight Riders fold Sunrisers for just 159. Rahul Tripathi top-scored for SRH with 55 off 35 balls while Heinrich Klaasen smashed 32 off 21 balls. The 62-run stand between Tripathi and Klaasen was the lone positive in an otherwise underwhelming batting effort.
KKR then gunned down the target in just 13.4 overs, courtesy of Venkatesh Iyer (51 not out) and captain Shreyas Iyer’s (58 not out) unbeaten knocks.
Hyderabad will have another shot at making the final on May 26 when they face the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier of the T20 tournament on Friday in Chennai.
IPL 2024 updated Orange Cap after KKR vs SRH Qualifier 1:
SRH batter Travis Head had the opportunity to probably move to the second spot in the IPL 2024 Orange Cap table, but the opener was dismissed by compatriot Mitchell Starc for a two-ball duck as he remained at the third spot in the list. He still has 533 runs in 13 matches this season, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Virat Kohli remained at the top with his tally of 708 runs in 14 games.
Meanwhile, Sunil Narine remained in the top 10 with his knock of 21 off 16 as he took his tally to 482 runs in 14 matches to stand ninth, while SRH opener Abhishek Sharma stands 10th with 470 runs in 14 games.
