Following his side’s third Indian Premier League (IPL) title win, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer said that the feeling does not seem real and he wants to “soak this moment”.
An all-round performance from KKR, including fiery spells by Mitchell Starc and Andre Russell and a half-century by Venkatesh Iyer, helped the Purple and Gold side secure their third IPL title and their first in 10 years as they defeated SRH by eight wickets on Sunday at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium.
Speaking in a video posted by the official X handle of the IPL, Iyer said, “This is what we play for! Yes! Come on! The feeling is unbelievable right now. It is ineffable, to be honest. I am not able to digest the fact that we have already won. It does not seem real, to be honest. Just want to soak this moment, enjoy with everyone, the family members, the support system who have been there with us throughout.”
๐ฝ๏ธ ๐ฅ๐๐ช ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ
Moments of pure joy, happiness, jubilation, and happy tears ๐ฅน
What it feels to win the #TATAIPL Final ๐
Scorecard โถ๏ธ https://t.co/lCK6AJCdH9#KKRvSRH | #Final | #TheFinalCall | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/987TCaksZz
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 26, 2024
Iyer scored 351 runs with two half-centuries at an average of 39.00 and a strike rate of 146.86 in 15 games this season. His highest rating was 58*.
When the game started, SRH chose to bat first after winning the toss. With wicket after wicket, KKR destroyed SRH, and Mitchell Starc, their major acquisition, more than paid for his Rs 24.75 crore price tag. SRH was bowled out for 113 in 18.3 overs, with only captain Pat Cummins (24 in 19 balls, with two fours and a six) and Aiden Markram (20 in 23 balls, with three fours) scoring more than 20 runs.
Andre Russell (3/19) was the top bowler for KKR. Starc (2/14) and Harshit Rana (2/24) also contributed well with the ball. Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora took a wicket each.
KKR completed the run-chase of 114 runs in just 10.3 overs with eight wickets in hand . Venkatesh Iyer (52* in 26 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (39 in 32 balls, with five fours and two sixes) made it easy for KKR.
