In a dominant display, Kolkata Knight Riders secured their third IPL title after defeating SunRisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in the final held in Chennai yesterday. Opting to bat first, SRH struggled against the sharp KKR bowling attack and were restricted to a below par total of 113 in 18.3 overs.
KKR new ball bowlers got the team off to a flying start. Mitchell Starc bowled a peach in the very first over to dismiss the dangerous Abhishek Sharma for a duck. Vaibhav Arora then joined the party in the next over to remove Travis Head. At 21/3 in 4.2 overs, SRH found themselves in a precarious position. Their middle order failed to rise to the occasion as the KKR spinners chipped away with regular wickets. Andre Russell was the star with the ball, picking up three wickets for just 19 runs in his two overs.
Chasing a small total, KKR openers gave their team a flying start. Venkatesh Iyer, in particular, stood out with a blistering unbeaten 52 off 26 balls. His extraordinary innings was laced with five fours and three sixes as he dominated the SRH bowlers. It was a clinical all-round show by KKR as they lifted their third IPL title. Venkatesh Iyer was named player of the match for his match winning knock.
