Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shreyas Iyer celebrates after winning the Indian Premier League 2024 final match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on May 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

When Shreyas Iyer recreated Lionel Messi’s famous World Cup celebration after lifting the IPL Trophy as Kolkata Knight Riders captain in Chennai, it was nothing short of an Argentina moment for the embattled Indian cricketer at an individual level.

His central contract torn up a few weeks before the IPL besides a recurring back injury threatening to derail him, Iyer faced numerous challenges at the start of the year.

He finally found a deep sense of triumph and vindication in this victory, much like Messi did after exorcising the ghosts of losing the 2014 final and winning the trophy for his country after a 36-year-wait.

For the two-time IPL champions, the wait lasted 10 years as Iyer sang a redemption song following a topsy-turvy start to the year. Little wonder then that he chose to imitate the man who knows all about rising from setbacks.

So, Iyer, with the trophy in his hands, took a playful walk towards his teammates, quite similar to what Messi did after the final against France in Doha, and handed the big prize to them.

“I am hearing a lot about Gautam Gambhir, who has created a magnificent culture in the KKR team. But this guy (Iyer), I don’t think he is getting enough credit. Shreyas Iyer needs some credit,” said the legendary Ian Bishop on Sunday as KKR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in a completely one-sided final to win their third IPL title.

KKR may have got most of their runs from openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, but they played as a team and managed to come out winners in a dominant season, topping the table with two rounds to spare, and enduring just three losses in between.

“It is hard to express how we are feeling right now. The wait was so long. We played like invincibles throughout the season. There is so much to cherish right now,” said Iyer.

It was a special feeling for his childhood and Mumbai coach Pravin Amre, who first tested his character by promoting Iyer to No.3 from No.7 in his maiden Ranji season in 2014-15.

Iyer returned with 153, his maiden first-class hundred in their match against Bengal at Eden Gardens in December 2014.

“I challenged him in his entire career (in Mumbai)…I knew how strong-willed he’s and it was my job as a coach to challenge him. He always liked to take the challenge in a good stride. he is a good team man. In the last world cup, he scored 530 runs,” Amre said.

“I always told him you just do whatever is in your hands, let the other people do their job, you just remain focus on what’s in your hands,” added Amre who first took him under his wings at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana.

By leading KKR into final, Iyer achieved the rare of feat of playing the summit clash as captain of two different franchises in the IPL. The KKR skipper missed the last season because of a back injury that required a surgery in London last year.

He made a comeback in the Asia Cup and went on to become India’s third leading run-getter after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the last year’s ODI World Cup.

The year didn’t start well for him though as he had a difficult outing in the home Test series against England and looked patchy scoring 140 runs in the first two matches before being left out for the final three Tests.

It was learnt that he developed the recurring back problem, even though he was cleared by the Board medical staff. Iyer then became the centre of a controversy when he missed the Ranji Trophy for his home state Mumbai and went on to attend KKR’s pre-season camp.

Iyer, however, returned to play for Mumbai in the semifinal and final against Vidarbha where he scored a resolute 95 in the second innings of their 42nd Ranji triumph.

The Board omitted him from the Grade B contract and BCCI secretary Jay Shah issued a stern warning asking players not to prioritise IPL over domestic cricket.

Under intense scrutiny, Iyer looked rusty at the start of the IPL and got out for a two-ball duck in their opener against SRH.

He had some significant contributions later on but his efforts were all overshadowed by Narine and Salt’s explosive batting.

Captain cool

However, Iyer personified “Captain Cool” and held the team’s cause ahead of his individual milestones. He went on to become the fourth leading run-getter for KKR this season with 351 runs and two fifties.

His best came against the crucial first qualifier against SRH when he anchored their tricky chase of 160 with an unbeaten 58.

“The way he handled the team as a player is commendable. More than that, he is improving as a leader and the experts in the game are also appreciating his leadership qualities,” Amre said.

“I personally believe success is not an accident he has worked hard for this, handling the team. Yes, he had a good team under him but bringing the best out of everyone is important,” he added.

Kolkata Knight Riders players celebrate with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 trophy after winning the final match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai.
| Photo Credit: PTI

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“Everyone has a plan…until they get punched in the face,” Mike Tyson is supposed to have said, according to sporting folklore.

Sunrisers Hyderabad had a plan, until Kolkata Knight Riders punched it in the face to win its third Indian Premier League title with an eight-wicket victory at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 26.

SRH won the toss and batted first, betting on its now-patented target-setting ability and the belief that there would be no dew to hamper its bowlers like in Qualifier 2 versus Rajasthan Royals. But so lethal was the KKR bowling pack led by Mitchell Starc that SRH’s best-laid plans fell hopelessly flat.

Pat Cummins’ men chose the worst day to make their lowest total of the season, a paltry 113. Shreyas & Co. batted with whirlwind intent, allowing SRH not even a sniff, to chase down the score with more than nine overs to spare. KKR’s first IPL triumph was also at Chepauk, way back in 2012, with the now mentor Gautam Gambhir helming the side.

Sunil Narine hit the first ball he faced, from Cummins into the stands at deep midwicket. He perished the very next delivery, but it made his team’s intentions clear. In the third over, Venkatesh Iyer smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two humongous sixes down the ground.

The left-hander would continue in the same vein, carting T. Natarajan for three fours and a six in the sixth over. At the other end Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a steady hand (39, 32b, 5×4, 2×6) before Venkatesh (52, 26b, 4×4, 3×6), like he had in Qualifier 1, carried his side home.

Earlier, Starc proved yet again that he was a man for the big occasion. In the very first over, he ended Abhishek Sharma’s nervous five-ball stay with a peach of a delivery that pitched on middle-stump and rattled the top of off.

Vaibhav Arora, who swung the ball both ways, struck the second big blow, forcing Travis Head to edge behind. When the in-form Rahul Tripathi top-edged a flick to Ramandeep Singh in front of square to give Starc his second scalp, SRH was reeling at 21 for three.

Aiden Markram hung around for a bit (20, 23b, 3×4), hitting Arora for two fours and a six in the final over of the PowerPlay to take SRH to 40 for three. But the recovery proved a mirage, as wickets fell at regular intervals. Nitish Kumar Reddy was caught behind off an express delivery from Harshit Rana and Markram holed out at long-on off Andre Russell.

Shahbaz Ahmed, the hero against RR, tried a sweep but was caught at short fine-leg. With no option left, Abdul Samad was summoned as the Impact Player and he lasted all of four balls, edging Russell behind to Gurbaz.

Cummins, batting at No.9, was SRH’s top-scorer 24 (19b, 2×4, 1×6). To be sure, the Australian is no mug with the bat, but if he is the leading batter in a side comprising Abhishek, Head, Klaasen and Markram, it does paint a grim picture. And so it proved to be.

Scoreboard

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma b Starc 2 Travis Head c Gurbaz b Vaibhav Arora 0 Rahul Tripathi c Ramandeep Singh b Starc 9 Aiden Markram c Starc b Russell 20 Nitish Reddy c Gurbaz b Harshit Rana 13 Heinrich Klaasen b Harshit Rana 16 Shahbaz Ahmed c Narine b Chakaravarthy 8 Abdul Samad c Gurbaz b Russell 4 Pat Cummins c Starc b Russell 24 Jaydev Unadkat lbw b Narine 4 Bhuvneshwar Kumar not out 0 Extras: (b-5, lb-2, w-6) 13

Total: 113 all out in 18.3 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-6, 3-21, 4-47, 5-62, 6-71, 7-77, 8-90, 9-113

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Mitchell Starc 3-0-14-2, Vaibhav Arora 3-0-24-1, Harshit Rana 4-1-24-2, Sunil Narine 4-0-16-1, Andre Russell 2.3-0-19-3, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-0-9-1.

Kolkata Knight Riders (Target: 114 runs from 20 overs) Rahmanullah Gurbaz lbw b Shahbaz Ahmed 39 Sunil Narine c Shahbaz Ahmed b Cummins 6 Venkatesh Iyer not out 52 Shreyas Iyer not out 6 Extras: (B-4 LB-2 W-5) 11

Total: (For 2 wickets in 10.3 overs) 114

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-102

Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-0-25-0, Pat Cummins 2-0-18-1, T Natarajan 2-0-29-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 2.3-0-22-1, Jaydev Unadkat 1-0-9-0, Aiden Markram 1-0-5-0.

File photo of Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

After a successful ODI World Cup in 2023, when he scored 530 runs, Shreyas Iyer has had a tough few months this year.

The middle-order batter lost his place in the Indian Test team midway through the England series and subsequently lost out on his central contract as well, despite qualifying for a Grade-C based on the number of matches he has played.

It was widely believed that not playing domestic cricket cost him the contract. He eventually played in the semifinals and final of the Ranji Trophy during Mumbai’s victorious campaign.

The 29-year-old has battled persistent back issues, and ahead of the IPL final, he spoke about the trying times he has faced in the last few months.

“I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format. When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it. But, at the same time, the competition was with myself. When I came, when the IPL was approaching, all I wanted was to see to it that I put my best foot forward,” said Shreyas.

The Mumbai batter also spoke about how things have started falling into place since the Ranji final. “It has been fantastic. And yeah, we won the final. I was part of the team and contributed in the final (95 in the second innings). So it gives me immense pleasure, to be honest, to be playing so well in the last few months,” said the KKR skipper.

“All I did was stay in the present and not think about what would happen to me or worry about the selection processes or anything. I just wanted to come and participate and see to it that I play to the best of my abilities.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed. File
| Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Since the introduction of the Impact Player rule in the IPL last year, there has been much discussion about its effect on the game.

On Friday, an all-rounder who might not have played if things had gone as per plan for Sunrisers Hyderabad unexpectedly proved to be the game-changer, helping his side defeat Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2.

SRH has played an aggressive brand of cricket all season, with its top and middle-order batters pulverising bowling attacks. But the 2016 champion was struggling at one point after being six down in the 14th over.

It was here that Shahbaz Ahmed, stepping in as an Impact Player, made a significant contribution. A run-a-ball 18 is unremarkable, but his 43-run partnership alongside Heinrich Klassen helped SRH post a fighting total.

Though the 29-year-old came in primarily for his skills as a batter, it was as a left-arm spinner that he turned the game. On a surface that seemed to assist the spinners more in the second innings – the degree of turn on offer, according to the broadcaster, was 3.3 degrees when SRH was bowling compared to 1.8 in the first innings – the Bengal all-rounder bowled his side to victory, returning figures of three for 23.

Interestingly, Shahbaz also had an ally in Abhishek Sharma, another handy bowler who has often been subbed out after his efforts with the bat. Abhishek (4-0-24-2) accounted for Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer, two of RR’s best batters.

Astute move

Explaining the decision to introduce Shahbaz, SRH assistant coach Simon Helmot said, “We probably had lost too many wickets, so we needed a batter to come in, and we knew how skilled Shahbaz is with the ball as well.

“We needed to get another partnership or two at the back end and he helped us out. Obviously, what he did with the ball was fantastic. He’s had his best day for the Sunrisers.”

In an astute move, SRH had recruited Shahbaz in a trade from RCB prior to the season and reaped the benefits at a crucial time.

“We have got a multi-skilled player who is very experienced, can bat at the top or in the middle-order. He can bowl nearly anywhere in an innings. So I think when the opportunity presented itself, Dan (Vettori) and those the decision-makers at SRH were wise in making that trade,” said Helmot.

Last December, when Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins went for over ₹45 crore collectively at the auction, it looked like the Indian Premier League market had gone berserk.

Recency bias was the oft-cited explanation, for the two speedsters had played an instrumental role in Australia’s 50-over World Cup win just a month earlier. It didn’t matter that Starc had last played in the IPL in 2015 and Cummins a grand total of 12 IPL matches since 2020.

Kolkata Knight Riders paid a whopping ₹24.75 crores for Starc and Sunrisers Hyderabad splurged ₹20.50 crores on Cummins. Two bonafide Test greats, with enviable ODI records, had laughed their way to the bank in the bespoke world of T20 cricket.

More than five months after that frenzied afternoon in Dubai, Starc and Cummins will line up for the IPL final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on May 26, having proved their penny’s worth and every critic wrong. Starc has scalped 15 wickets in KKR’s commanding run to the summit clash while Cummins, with his midas captaincy touch, has had his best-ever IPL with 17 wickets.

It helps that both are part of robust T20 outfits. KKR, astutely led by Shreyas Iyer, last lost a match exactly a month ago and reserved its best for Qualifier 1 where it walloped SRH by eight wickets. Sunrisers, despite being not so clinical, has redefined T20 batting this season, with Travis Head — another World Cup winner from Australia — and Abhishek Sharma pummelling many attacks into submission.

So wholesome an outfit has KKR been that even the loss of the in-form opener Phil Salt hasn’t seemingly affected the balance as Afghan Rahmanullah Gurbaz shone in Qualifier 1 in his first visit to the crease. Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell have come to the party when required; only Rinku Singh has remained largely subdued.

For SRH, Rahul Tripathi has thrived in three straight games and, along with Heinrich Klaasen, has bolstered the middle-order. Particularly impressive was the way R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal were handled in Qualifier 2. This should bode well for the team ahead of another spin test against Varun Chakravarthy and Narine.

New heroes

The biggest gain for SRH from Friday’s shootout was the unearthing of new heroes, with the unheralded spin bowlers in Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek coming up with match-winning performances on a dry, deteriorating pitch. Will lightning strike twice at Chepauk?

Heavens did open on match-eve, forcing KKR to call off its practice session after a few minutes. Sun didn’t beat down on Saturday as it usually does in May in these parts, but the weather remained warm and humid. As to what effect this has on the late-evening dew on matchday remains to be seen, for the absence of it in Qualifier 2 perplexed many.

However, amidst this mystery, what is certain is the fact that one of Starc and Cummins will leave the Indian shores with another colourful feather in an already ornate cap. A World Test champion, an ODI World Cup winner, a T20 World titlist will also be an IPL top dog.

Teams

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Anmolpreet Singh, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Upendra Yadav (wk), Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Agarwal.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

A splendid bowling effort, masterminded by left-arm spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad defeat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Friday and march into its third Indian Premier League final.

Needing 176 to win, RR seemed on course at 65 for one, only for Shahbaz (4-0-23-3) and Abhishek (4-0-24-2), who had collectively taken just three wickets all season, to bamboozle the batters. Late-evening dew, which has hampered many a bowling side, made no appearance as SRH restricted RR to 139 for seven to set up a date with Kolkata Knight Riders for the ultimate prize on Sunday.

RR began slowly, reaching 32 for one after five overs. But in the sixth, Yashasvi Jaiswal (42, 21b, 4×4, 3×6) made the play, flat-batting Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a majestic six down the ground before following it up with three boundaries.

Spinners take over

However, the introduction of Shahbaz and Abhishek pegged RR back. Jaiswal welcomed Shahbaz with a reverse-swept six, but soon miscued one to long-off. Skipper Sanju Samson’s slap off Abhishek went straight to Aiden Markram at long-on.

Shahbaz went on to struck twice in the 12th over as Riyan Parag mistimed to deep mid-wicket and R. Ashwin was caught behind.

When Abhishek rattled Shimron Hetmyer’s stumps in the 14th over (92 for six), the 2008 champion’s challenge was all but over. Dhruv Jurel (56 n.o., 35b, 7×4, 2×6) and Rovman Powell kept the flame flickering with a 32-run association. But Abhishek shut down the contest with a fine running catch from deep midwicket to send Powell back.

Earlier, after being asked to bat, SRH scored 68 in the PowerPlay, courtesy some belligerent hitting by Rahul Tripathi (37, 15b, 5×4, 2×6). If not for the wicket-taking nous of Trent Boult (three for 45), SRH could have had more.

Abhishek hit Boult for a six in front of square three balls into the innings and creamed the next ball down the ground for four. But Boult had his man, with the ball hitting high on the bat and lobbing to cover.

For the next three overs, it was all Tripathi. The 33-year-old was brutal on Ashwin, sweeping, lofting and late-cutting the offie for fours. Boult was dispatched beautifully through cover and point, and then clipped over fine-leg for a tremendous six. But the left-arm quick outwitted Tripathi too, having him caught at short-third with a slow bouncer.

After the PowerPlay, the runs dried up. The biggest barren patch — a 29-ball boundary drought from overs 7.5 to 12.3 — sent the crowd into a deep slumber despite the best efforts of the stadium jockey.

But Heinrich Klaasen’s was an assured presence. The burly 32-year-old muscled the ball four times into the stands (50, 34b, 4×6), thrice off Chahal and once off Boult.

Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan were excellent for RR, conceding just 52 runs from eight overs and claiming five wickets. Sandeep even accounted for the uncharacteristically sedate Travis Head (34, 28b, 3×4, 1×6) with a slow bouncer and rearranged the dangerous Klaasen’s stumps with a slow yorker. For a while the bowling effort appeared match-winning, but it was not to be.

Scoreboard

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Travis Head c Ashwin b Sandeep 34 (28b, 3×4, 1×6), Abhishek Sharma c Kohler-Cadmore b Boult 12 (5b, 1×4, 1×6), Rahul Tripathi c Chahal b Boult 37 (15b, 5×4, 2×6), Aiden Markram c Chahal b Boult 1 (2b), Heinrich Klaasen b Sandeep 50 (34b, 4×6), Nitish Kumar c Chahal b Avesh 5 (10b), Abdul Samad b Avesh 0 (1b), Shahbaz Ahmed (Impact player in place of Head) c Jurel b Avesh 18 (18b, 1×6), Pat Cummins (not out) 5 (5b, 1×4), Jaydev Unadkat run out 5 (2b, 1×4); Extras (lb-1, w-7): 8; Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 175.

Fall of wickets

1-13 (Abhishek, 0.6 overs), 2-55 (Tripathi, 4.3), 3-57 (Markram, 4.6), 4-99 (Head, 9.6), 5-120 (Nitish, 13.5), 6-120 (Samad, 13.6), 7-163 (Klaasen, 18.1), 8-170 (Shahbaz, 19.3), 9-175 (Unadkat, 19.6).

Royals bowling

Boult 4-0-45-3, Ashwin 4-0-43-0, Sandeep 4-0-25-2, Avesh 4-0-27-3, Chahal 4-0-34-0.

Rajasthan Royals

Yashasvi Jaiswal c Samad b Shahbaz 42 (21b, 4×4, 3×6), Tom Kohler-Cadmore c Tripathi b Cummins 10 (16b, 1×4), Sanju Samson c Markram b Abhishek 10 (11b, 1×4), Riyan Parag c Abhishek b Shahbaz 6 (10b), Dhruv Jurel (not out) 56 (35b, 7×4, 2×6), R. Ashwin c Klaasen b Shahbaz 0 (2b), Shimron Hetmyer (Impact Player in place of Chahal) b Abhishek 4 (10b), Rovman Powell c Abhishek b Natarajan 6 (12b), Trent Boult (not out) 0 (3b); Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-3): 5; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 139.

Fall of wickets

1-24 (Kohler-Cadmore, 3.6), 2-65 (Jaiswal, 7.5), 3-67 (Samson, 8.3), 4-79 (Parag, 11.1), 5-79 (Ashwin, 11.4), 6-92 (Hetmyer, 13.4), 7-124 (Powell, 17.4).

Sunrisers bowling

Bhuvneshwar 3-0-33-0, Cummins 4-0-30-1, Natarajan 3-0-13-1, Unadkat 1-0-5-0, Shahbaz 4-0-23-3, Abhishek 4-0-24-2, Markram 1-0-10-0.

Toss: RR

PoM: Shahbaz

SRH won by 36 runs