The IPL highlight match: KKR vs SRH was full of unpredictable breaks, excellent bowling and some remarkable captaincy from both sides. Kolkata made it a rather one-sided affair though as they have now cemented a final berth.
Though it was a neutral venue for both sides, still it was an impressive crowd supporting both sides.
SRH's skipper, Pat Cummins, won the toss and decided to trust his batting to put runs on the board first. It has always been heard to post a massive score in a big game to challenge the opposition side to chase.
The plan for Men in Orange backfired drastically. They lost Travis Head again on the second ball of the innings, who was undone by the quality of Mitchell Starc.
In the very next over, Vaibhav Arora got rid of dangerous Abhishek Sharma, and suddenly SRH was two down for nothing; both of their openers, who have been setting the platform for them throughout the competition, are back in the hunt.
They never looked in control after that and kept losing wickets regularly.
In the fifth over of the innings, Mitchell Starc havoced fire again with a double blow, first bamboozling Shahbaz Ahmed's stumps and then getting Nitish Kumar Reddy behind the stumps, making SRH four down in the powerplay.
Rahul Tripathi showed some resilience from one end, but no batter supported him. They scored 159, thanks to Tripathi's 55(35) and Klaasen's little cameo of 32 in 21 balls before he got caught at deep mid-wicket.
Starc Ascertain IPL Highlight Match
Mitchell Starc is a man of big stages and has proved his potency in international cricket in crunch games.
The mentality of an Aussie coming for a knockout fixture is different, and this is one of the biggest reasons they win Championships more often than not.
The left arm quick was out of form throughout the season and was discarded by everyone.
Then comes the bigger occasion of a playoff game, and he sets the world on fire with his figures of 3 for 33 in 4 overs and was accredited with player of the match award.
KKR managed to restrict Hyderabad's giant batting lineup to a below-par total of 159 only because of the platform set by the 34-year-old Aussie with the new ball.
Firstly, he outfoxed Travis Head for a two-ball duck, who was in devastating batting form. Then, in the fifth over, he double-struck completely putting SRH on the backfoot.
All the trolls and memes that were made on the price tag of Mitchell Starc and even KKR being criticized for buying him at such a hefty price of INR 24.75Cr, all of them can now sit back and relax because he delivered for them where it mattered the most.
KKR, courtesy of Mitchell Starc's brilliance, is one step away from lifting their third IPL trophy.
KKR vs SRH Match: Players With Impactful Performances
The KKR vs SRH players played an important role in the qualifier for their sides. Here are the highlights of the players during the IPL highlight match.
Varun Chakaravarthy
KKR is known as a side with a complete bowling attack, and their spinners particularly are extremely threatening on any surface.
Varun Chakaravarthy played his part brilliantly in the all-important qualifier. When he came onto bowl, SRH was in trouble, and he ensured they remained under pressure throughout the innings.
The mystery spinner ended his spell with figures of 2 for 26. He took a crucial wicket of Klaasen, who was setting up for something big before perishing on a miscue and getting caught at deep mid-wicket.
His skill in setting up the batters with his variation in pace deserves much more applause.
It makes it easier for their skipper, Shreyas Iyer, to rotate his spinners comfortably and use them more effectively.
Shreyas Iyer
In KKR vs SRH game, when KKR came to chase the target, the openers set up with a decent start of 44 in just 3.2 overs.
The newly tried opener for KKR, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who came in as a replacement for Phil Salt, replicated the batting style of Englishmen as well and scored a quick-fire 23 from 14 balls.
Shreyas Iyer came onto bat at no. 4 in the seventh over of the innings for 67 runs. It was a perfect stage for their skipper to get some form back before the all-important final. He didn't hold himself back and fully used these comparatively easier circumstances.
Venkatesh Iyer, coming at no. 3, supported him with an unbeaten fifty. They both finished the game for Kolkata with 38 balls to spare and confirmed their spots for the IPL 2024 final.
KKR’s skipper smoked 22 runs in the 14th over the innings when Cummins gave the ball to Travis Head.
The 29-year-old Mumbaikar scored 58 from 28 balls, including four sixes and five boundaries. His return to form for KKR was the biggest boost for them just before getting into the finals.
IPL Highlight Match: A Clinical Run Chase
In the IPL highlight match: KKR vs SRH report, the Men in Purple outnumbered Pat Cummins's men and dominated the game.
Initially, restricting them to a less-than-par total of 159 and then chasing it down with sheer comfort and authority made their chances of lifting the trophy more realistic.
Their main Ace bowler Mitchell Starc showed his true potential and color in the crucial playoff game, winning the match literally on his performance.
KKR chased the target of 160 in only 13.4 overs, making it a completely one-sided affair.
With That, KKR has to wait till Sunday to see who comes out in front of them contesting for the last time in the final for the IPL glory.
On the other side, Cummins has a second cherry to utilize for the final berth by playing Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator game of RR vs RCB.
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