Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the third time on Sunday with Sunrisers Hyderabad the unfortunate runners-up . Playing their first IPL final since 2018, it extended their trophy drought to eight years.
SRH were thoroughly outplayed by KKR at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in a lopsided final. Batting first, SRH were bowled out for 113 which is the lowest ever total in an IPL final . In reply, KKR got the job done with ease thanks to Venkatesh Iyer’s blazing fifty.
Following the loss, while there were celebrations and tears of joy in the KKR camp , including for owner Shah Rukh Khan and family , there was disappointment in the SRH camp.
SRH owner Kaviya Maran tried her best to hide her emotions but didn’t quite succeed. In the dressing room later, she thanked the players for the effort and offered words of encouragement for the cricket played throughout the season.
"You've made us proud." 🧡
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) May 27, 2024
- Kaviya Maran pic.twitter.com/zMZraivXEE
Hyderabad were talk of the IPL for their attacking cricket which saw them post three of the four highest totals during the season . They posted 287/3 vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 277/3 vs Mumbai Indians and 266/7 vs Delhi Capitals.
“You guys really, you have made us so proud. I had to come here and tell you that. I mean you’ve really re-defined the way we play T20 cricket and everyone is talking about us,” said Maran in the dressing room.
“The off day had to happen today but really, all of… you great job with the bat and the ball. Thank you so much. Even though we finished last place last season, I thank all the fans who came out in huge numbers because of the potential you guys had.”
“Everyone’s talking about us. Even though KKR’s won, everyone’s going to be talking about the style of cricket we played. Thank you guys, take care. Don’t look like this (laughter). We played the finals. It wasn’t just any other game. I mean all the other teams are watching us tonight. So thank you so much. I’ll see you soon,” she added.
SRH had finished eighth, eighth and tenth (bottom) respectively in the last three seasons and can count this as a positive season despite missing out on the title.
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