The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) advanced to their fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) final after a dominating eight-wicket victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. Mitchell Starc led the charge with a brilliant opening spell, taking three wickets in the powerplay and dismantling SRH’s batting lineup.
SRH, batting first, managed a modest total of 159 in 19.3 overs. Rahul Tripathi top-scored with 55, while Heinrich Klaasen (32) and Pat Cummins (30) provided brief resistance. Starc’s early strikes, which included dismissing SRH's opener Travis Head for a duck, set the tone for KKR. He was supported by Vaibhav Arora and Andre Russell, who both contributed to keeping SRH’s score in check.
Chasing 160, KKR’s openers gave a solid start. Although Sunil Narine fell for 21 after the powerplay, Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s quick 14-ball 23 had already provided momentum. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer then took charge, forging an unbeaten 97-run partnership for the third wicket. Shreyas finished on 58 not out off 24 balls, while Venkatesh scored 51 not out off 28 balls, sealing the win in just 13.4 overs.
Shreyas benefited from dropped catches by SRH, notably by Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head, which compounded SRH’s woes. The SRH bowlers, including T Natarajan and Viyaskanth Vijaykanth, failed to contain the KKR batsmen.
KKR will face the winner of Qualifier 2 in the final, set to take place in Chennai on Sunday. SRH, who finished second in the league stage, still have a chance to reach the final if they win Qualifier 2 against the victor of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, scheduled for May 24.
