We had to maximize today and we did it: Shreyas Iyer

That Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the most impressive team in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is not news anymore. They have taken the tournament by storm in all three departments to cruise to their fourth final after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets on May 21 (Tuesday). 

Even though they lost the services of their impressive opener, Phil Salt, KKR had their bowlers to push their stock forward. It all started with Mitchell Starc, who broke SRH’s back in the powerplay before Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshit Rana pushed the 2016 IPL champions further down the barrel. Batters completed the formality without breaking a sweat. The performance certainly impressed skipper Shreyas Iyer - as the team have taken the straight route to the final. 

“Elated by the performance, the responsibility was important, we stood for each other, extremely happy with the performances. The rejuvenation was important for us. When you travel so much. It's important to stay in the present. Today was the day we had to maximize, we did it and that's what we thrive on,” Iyer said in the post-match presentation.

After Starc ensured SRH didn’t get an ideal head-start in the match, Rana and Chakaravarthy took wickets in the middle overs. By getting rid of Abhishek Sharma up front, Vaibhav Arora played his role to perfection. Iyer was certainly proud of that.

“I think the way every bowler stood up to this occasion, the way they came in and took wickets, was imperative. The attitude and approach of all bowlers was to take wickets, and they did. When you have a variety in the bowling line-up, it's mesmerizing. They have been true in terms of their work ethics. Hopefully, we keep performing.”

For Mitchell Starc, who hasn’t had a great IPL so far, it was a game to alter perceptions. Coming into the encounter, the Aussie pacer had 12 wickets in 11 matches this season, going at an economy of 11.4 runs per over while averaging 33. Seven of those 12 wickets had come in two games alone. 

However, against the Sunrisers, Starc wrought the iron hot to bag three wickets in the most important game of the season. Crucially, he had wickets in the powerplay, which helped the KKR secure the early momentum and cash in easily afterward. Starc revealed that the plan was not to give too much width to the opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head.

“We know how important the powerplay is,” Starc said. These were the two sides that have dominated in the powerplay with the bat. We needed to pick early wickets and get into their middle order. The way Head and Abhishek have been playing throughout the tournament, they like width and free their arms. We just tried to swing the ball and not provide them width. Bowl stump to stump and try the hard length.”

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