In a display of sheer power, the Kolkata Knight Riders dismantled Sunrisers Hyderabad to guarantee themselves a spot in the 2024 IPL final. KKR chased down 160 with ease, winning by 8 wickets thanks to a massive, unbeaten 97-run stand between Venkatesh Iyer (51* off 28) and captain Shreyas Iyer (58* off 24). The pair reached the target in just 13.4 overs, leaving SRH to face the winner of the RR vs RCB Eliminator if they want another chance at the title.
The chase began aggressively, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine knocking off 63 runs during the powerplay. While T. Natarajan managed to remove Gurbaz (23) in his opening over and Pat Cummins dismissed Narine for 21, the damage was already done. Venkatesh and Shreyas then took control, relentlessly attacking the bowlers until Shreyas ended the game with a towering six over long-on.
Choosing to bat first turned out to be a mistake for SRH, as Mitchell Starc immediately struck by dismissing Travis Head for zero. Vaibhav Arora kept the pressure on, removing the explosive Abhishek Sharma for 3 after a great catch by Andre Russell. Arora further crippled the SRH lineup with a double-strike in the 5th over. SRH attempted a recovery through a 62-run stand between Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen (32), but the momentum halted when Russell ran out Tripathi for 55. A quick 32 from Pat Cummins helped the Sunrisers limp to a respectable total of 159.
The Eliminator takes place today (May 22), where Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will battle for a spot in Qualifier 2.