In the IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets, thanks to half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer. Chasing 160, KKR reached the target in just 13.4 overs with strong performances from their top order.
Ahmedabad, May 21 (IANS) Captain Shreyas Iyer (58) and Venkatesh Iyer (51) led KKR to a big win over SRH in Qualifier 1, securing a spot in the final of the IPL 2024.
SRH will get another chance to reach the final by facing the winner of the Eliminator match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai on Friday.
Chasing 160, KKR got off to a flying start with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine scoring quickly. They added 44 runs in 20 balls before T. Natrajan dismissed Gurbaz for 23 in the fourth over. Narine (21) was removed by Pat Cummins soon after the powerplay, leaving KKR at 67/2.
Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer then took control, building a match-winning partnership of 97 runs for the third wicket. Both players hit four sixes and five fours each, reaching their half-centuries and securing the win with 38 balls to spare.
Earlier, KKR bowled out SRH for 159 in 19.3 overs. SRH had a poor start, losing opener Travis Head for a duck and three more wickets in the first six overs, leaving them at 45/4. Mitchell Starc was on fire, taking three of the four wickets in the powerplay.
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Rahul Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen tried to stabilize SRH with a quick 62-run partnership. Tripathi scored a 29-ball fifty before Varun Chakaravarthy broke the stand. Klaasen scored 32 before getting out.
Abdul Samad and Tripathi added some runs, but a mix-up ended Tripathi’s innings at 55. SRH couldn’t recover and kept losing wickets. Captain Pat Cummins hit a late 30 off 24 balls, pushing the total past 150, before Andre Russell dismissed him in the final over.
For KKR, Starc was the standout bowler with figures of 3-34, while Chakaravarthy took two wickets.
IPL 2024 SRH vs KKR Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 159 all out in 19.3 overs (Rahul Tripathi 55, Heinrich Klaasen 32; Mitchell Starc 3/34, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-26) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 164/2 in 13.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58*, Venkatesh Iyer 51*; T. Natarajan 1-22) by eight wickets.