5 factors that ushered KKR to their third IPL title

SRH openers dusted cheaply

The key to stopping Sunrisers Hyderabad is to set the sun on their openers before they rise up. Kolkata Knight Riders did that in Qualifier 2, where Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma managed only 3 runs between them. In the final today (May 26), the SRH openers could score only two runs put together, with Mitchell Starc taking Abhishek down in his first over. 

Starc finished the final with figures of 2/14 in three overs and the Player of the Match award. 

Russell cripples SRH in middle overs

After Starc, it was Andre Russell’s spell of 3/19 in 2.3 overs that kept SRH at bay. Russell dismissed Aiden Markram in the 11th over and Abdul Samad in the 13th, which didn’t let Hyderabad revive in the middle overs. 

KKR bowlers hunting in unison

Mitchell Starc dismissed Abhishek Sharma in his first over

Vaibhav Arora dismissed Travis Head in his first over

Harshit Rana dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy in his first over

Andre Russell dismissed Aiden Markram in his first over

Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Shahbaz Ahmed in his first over

Kolkata used six bowlers in the final. All of them were in the wickets column. Barring Sunil Narine, everyone else struck in their first over. Consequently, SRH were unable to forge a partnership. Their highest partnership of the innings was 26 runs for the fourth wicket between Markram and Nitish Kumar.

SRH were bowled out for 113, becoming the first team to be bowled out in an IPL final.

Cummins strikes early

Provided they had no runs to play with, SRH needed early wickets to stand a chance in the final. Sunil Narine, however, began with a six. Taking the strike in the second over, he pulled Pat Cummins into the stands. Cummins came on the next ball itself, dismissing the left-hander. At 11/1, SRH were hopeful till.......

Venkatesh Iyer races KKR to their third title

However, Venkatesh Iyer crushed all those hopes. He struck Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two fours and six in the next over. Two overs later, he tore into T Natarajan, smashing the left-armer for three fours and a six. Iyer was batting at 40 off 13 by the end of the powerplay. His unbeaten 52 off 26 balls raced KKR to their third title in 10.3 overs. 

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