In Pictures: How KKR celebrated their IPL 2024 triumph
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in the IPL 2024 final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, May 26. In a completely one-sided final, KKR bowled first after losing the toss and knocked over SRH for 113 in 18.3 overs. In their chase, they romped home in 10.3 overs to lift the IPL title for the third time.
Left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was brilliant once again for Kolkata, producing figures of 2-14 in his three overs. His brute to clean up in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma (2) has been termed by many as the ball of the tournament.
Apart from Starc, Harshit Rana also claimed 2-24, while all-rounder Andre Russell picked up 3-19 from 2.3 overs. Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy claimed one wicket each as the Knight Riders never allowed SRH to settle into any kind of rhythm.
In their chase of 114, KKR lost Narine for 6 in the second over. However, Venkatesh Iyer (52* off 26) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (39 off 32) combined to ensure that SRH hopes of a fightback were doused early.
Following the Kolkata Knight Riders' fantastic triumph in the IPL 2024 summit clash, a number of pictures of their post-match celebrations have gone viral on social media. Here's a compilation.
KKR appointed Gambhir as mentor ahead of the IPL 2024 edition. Incidentally, the former India opener was the captain of the franchise when they lifted their first two titles in 2012 and 2014.
Shreyas Iyer uploaded the above picture on X and shared a special message for his father, which read:
"Do it all for my family ♥️ Bringing the trophy back home for you too, papa 🤗."
Andre Russell claimed 19 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 15.53. He also scored 222 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 185.
Fellow West Indian Sunil Narine was asked to open the innings and responded with 488 runs in 14 innings at an average of 34.86 and a strike rate of 180.74. With his off-spin, he picked up 17 scalps at an average of 21.65.
Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was seen supporting his team fervently during IPL 2024. He won a lot of praise for the poise with which he interacted with players, both from his team and the opposition.
While sharing a series of celebration pictures on her social media handle, an elated Juhi Chawla wrote:
“No words can describe this feeling 😇✨❤️ @KKRiders #kkr #KKRChampions.”
Venkatesh Iyer can be described as one of the unsung heroes of Kolkata's IPL 2024 triumph. The aggressive left-hander slammed 370 runs in 14 matches at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of 158.80, with four half-centuries.
Both Gambhir and Shah Rukh have been effusive in their praise of each other. The former has openly credited the Bollywood superstar for backing him even during his worst phase with the bat in the IPL.
KKR skipper Shreyas shared the above picture on X and described Shah Rukh as the heartbeat of the team. He uploaded the image with the caption:
"Special mention to the heartbeat of this team @iamsrk! Thank you for all your words of inspiration and encouragement 🏆💜."
Shah Rukh and Juhi go back a long way. They were one of the most loved on-screen couples in Bollywood in the early and mid-90s. They are also very good friends apart from being co-owners of one of the most successful IPL franchises.
Ananya Panday, who attended the IPL 2024 final and is a KKR supporter, shared a picture with Suhana Khan and Shanaya Kapoor and captioned it:
“We won 🥺💜😈 @kkriders.”
Apart from winning the IPL 2024 trophy, Kolkata Knight Riders won a few personal honors as well. Starc was the Player of the Match in the final, while Narine was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.