Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir who is often accused of not smiling enough was all smiles after Shreyas Iyer-led side beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final comprehensively. Gambhir was ecstatic after the win and celebrated it with his former teammate Sunil Narine who was a part of KKR’s previous IPL title win in the 2014 edition. After the post-match presentation and initial celebrations, the players and the coaching staff headed to the dressing room. KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit was giving a speech which was cut-short by Gambhir.
As Pandit was addressing the player, Gambhir said, “Ladke pagal hore hai dance karne ke liye (The boys are waiting anxiously to dance and celebrate).”
What followed in the dressing room were loud cheers. Even KKR CEO Venky Mysore could not hide his smile. Pandit had no option but to end his speech early as he said, “Anyway guys, thank you, very well done.”
KKR bowled out SRH for 113 in 18.3 overs. The non-threatening total was chased down with eight wickets in hand and 57 balls to spare at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Iyer became the first captain to lead two different sides in an IPL final. Also, KKR became the first team in IPL history to win an IPL title with two different captains.
“Absolutely comprehensive. This is what we demanded from the team and every individual. They stood up to the right occasion and the feeling is hard to express. It (wait) was so long, longer than the match. We played like invincibles throughout the season. There's so much to cherish right now. It is pleasing, the performance has been flawless throughout. I am running out of words right now. We have been tremendous from game one, we stepped up today. All we demanded from ourselves was to back each other whatever the situation is,” Iyer said in the post-match presentation.
Iyer-led KKR also equalled Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) 17-year-old feat. Both the teams won the title after facing minimum defeats (three) in the season.
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