NEWS
Follow UsKolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pulverised Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in the first Qualifier and made their way to the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. While Mitch Starc (3/34) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/26) did the damage with the ball and restricted SRH to 159, KKR’s chase went like a breeze. After a quick start by openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer joined hands to complete the remaining formalities.
The two Iyers batted brilliantly and scored 97 runs in just 44 deliveries, finishing the chase in just 13.4 overs. Speaking to the broadcasters after the chase, Venkatesh looked quite elated.
“It is always special for players like us to play in the IPL final. It’s a dreamy moment for us, going to Chennai, and we're looking forward to it,” the left-handed Iyer said.
“We were raring to go out there. When you have the momentum, you want to really go out there. You saw Rinku [Singh] fielding in hotspots and taking those catches. It’s [because of] the excitement we have to go out there and perform,” Venkatesh added about the energy within the team that was quite palpable in Ahmedabad yesterday.
Speaking on his batting, Venkatesh highlighted how he was raring to go all guns blazing after a long gap. “More than the confidence, I really wanted to go out and bat. We last played a game on the 11th, so we all were eager to showcase our talent,” Venkatesh remarked.
“The wicket was really good, and credit goes to our bowlers for bowling them out for 160 odd. In a tournament like this, momentum is really important.”
“We have seen that RCB [Royal Challengers Bengaluru] is continuously winning their matches and gaining momentum, and even we wanted that momentum, so we wanted to go out and wanted the rain to stop [against Rajasthan in Guwahati], but it was disappointing.”
Just like Gurbaz, who credited the KKR management for the supportive environment within the setup, Venkatesh appreciated the work put in by everyone involved in the team.
“…We were the table toppers and we have got a lot of support from the management, credit to the owners, SRK and Jay sir were also there tonight to support us.”
KKR will play the final of IPL 2024 on May 26. Their opponent will be finalised after Qualifier 2 on May 24.
