Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 113 all out in 18.3 overs, where as Kolkata Knight Riders scored 114/2 in 10.3 overs.
So, finally Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders couldn’t have asked for a better performance from their bowlers in the final.
On a red-soil pitch, after being asked to bowl, every member of the attack had his moment, reducing the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad batting lineup to 113 – the lowest total ever in an IPL final – which proved to be a straightforward chase as KKR clinched their third IPL title in commanding fashion.
What made the difference? The powerplays of the two teams.
Mitchell Starc, in particular, set the tone with a stunning spell of 3-0-14-2 that threw SRH into disarray.
His first over against Abishek Sharma featured a series of away-going deliveries that beat the bat or caught the edge, culminating in a devastating fifth delivery that started on middle and leg, pitched on a good length, squared Abishek up, and hit the off stump.
This crucial wicket mirrored Starc’s performance in the first qualifier when he bowled Travis Head for a duck.
In his third over, Starc continued to exploit movement, resulting in Rahul Tripathi being caught off a leading edge.
Between Starc’s strikes, KKR secured another key wicket as Vaibhav Arora dismissed Head caught behind for a golden duck.
At 23/3 in five overs, with only one of SRH’s boundaries properly middled, KKR achieved the dream start they wanted.
They maintained this dominance with the bat, leaving SRH reeling and completely outplayed.
| Parameter | SRH | KKR |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 40/3 | 72/1 |
| Run Rate | 6.6 | 12 |
| 4s/6s | 4 and 1 | 8 and 4 |
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Powerplay (40/3, 1×6, 4x4s)
Despite some counter-attacking in the sixth over bowled by Arora, which yielded 17 runs to restore some parity, the damage had already been done.
Starc, Arora, and KKR were relentless, not allowing SRH to build momentum.
Whenever SRH tried to fight back, KKR managed to push them further behind, especially after a big over inside the powerplay.
The Middle Overs (50/4, 4x4s, 1×6)
Nitish Reddy’s brief flurry with a six and a four raised hopes of an SRH counter-attack, but it was quickly snuffed out.
KKR’s third seamer, Harshit Rana, halted Reddy’s momentum with three consecutive slower balls before having him caught behind with a seam-up delivery.
Sunil Narine followed with a couple of quiet overs, and Andre Russell struck on his first ball to have Aiden Markram caught off a short delivery.
Varun Chakaravarthy then became KKR’s fifth bowler to strike in his first over, dismissing Shahbaz Ahmed caught at short fine leg.
SRH brought in batting impact sub Abdul Samad, but he fared no better, edging Russell behind.
The final nail in the coffin came when Heinrich Klaasen dragged one off Rana, putting SRH in a point of no return.
The Death Overs (23/2, 1×6, 1×4)
After relentless wicket-taking, not even Pat Cummins could fashion a turnaround for SRH.
The last couple of wickets fell routinely, resulting in SRH being bowled out for their second-lowest total ever in the IPL, setting up a straightforward chase for KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Powerplay (72/1, 8x4s, 4x6s)
Sunil Narine had little impact with the bat in the final, but his absence was hardly felt as Venkatesh Iyer came out swinging.
He started with a four and back-to-back sixes against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, followed by three fours and a six off T Natarajan, propelling KKR to a frenetic pace right from the start.
With this aggressive pace, Iyer notched up a 24-ball half-century.
Even though Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell after a 91-run stand, Iyer ensured that KKR was carried over the line, securing their third IPL title.
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