On Sunday, the Kolkata Knight Riders won their third IPL title with an eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai. Kolkata dominated the group stage, having already defeated Hyderabad in the first qualifier, and they replicated their dominance in the final, which lasted only 29 overs.
Pat Cummins, the skipper of Hyderabad, questioned his decision to bat first as his team crumbled for 113 runs in 18.3 overs. Mitchell Starc, the match’s MVP, struck twice early, while Vaibhav Arora removed Travis Head for a duck on the first ball, frightening Hyderabad. Andre Russell took three key wickets, including those of Aiden Markram and Cummins, throwing Hyderabad into disarray.
Cummins briefly revived hopes by dismissing Sunil Narine in the second over, but Kolkata’s chase remained unstoppable. Venkatesh Iyer’s unbroken 52 off 26 balls and Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s consistent batting enabled Kolkata to reach the mark in just 10.3 overs.
The night was particularly memorable for mentor Gautam Gambhir, who led Kolkata to IPL victories in 2012 and 2014. Despite Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s playoff exit, Virat Kohli earned the orange crown, while Harshal Patel of the Punjab Kings took the purple cap. Sunil Narine was selected as the season’s MVP.
