KKR vs SRH IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 Highlights: Venkatesh, Shreyas help Kolkata beat Hyderabad by 8 wickets to reach final

Travis Head continues. Head to Shreyas, SIX! This is going to end soon. What a shot to start the over. Flighted delivery and nailed it over deep mid-wicket. FOUR! Another hit towards mid-wicket which races past two fielders for a second boundary of this over. Just 8 needed now. Head to Shreyas, SIX! This is unreal! Shreyas brings his fifty in just 23 deliveries! Can he finish it off in this over? Yes, he will! SIX! He dances down the track and hits another six at long-on to end the game in a spectacular manner. KKR reaches IPL 2024 final!

Nitish Reddy replaces Natarajan in the attack. Reddy to Shreyas, FOUR! Here comes the pull from Shreyas. Reddy to Venkatesh, SIX! Venkatesh brings up his cracking fifty. 13 off this over. 

Travis Head is in the attack as Cummins looks for some lucky wicket! Head to Venkatesh, FOUR! Welcome boundary for KKR as Venkatesh throws his shot on the offside to send the ball to the fence towards backward point. Head to Shreyas, FOUR! And the rampage continues. 10 off this over. 

T. Natarajan comes back into the attack. Natarajan to Shreyas, DROPPED! Travis Head drops a sitter at point. Shreays dangles towards his left and carves on off-side but SRH just won’t take it today! Natarajan to Shreyas, SIX! Shreyas punishes Natarajan quickly. He goes aerial over long-off for a maximum. Natarajan to Shreyas, FOUR! Kolkata is running away with it. Short ball and Shreyas ramps it behind square. 12 from this over. 

Vijayakanth continues. Vijayakanth to Shreyas, DROPPED! A failed scoop attempt from Shreyas was nearly taken by Klaasen who dived ahead before colliding with Rahul Tripathi as the catch was put down. A quick couple takes KKR past 100. Vijayakanth to Venkatesh, SIX! Venkatesh seems to be in a hurry. He goes on backfoot and crunches the pull over deep mid-wicket. Another 11-run over for Vijayakanth. 

Pat Cummins continue. Cummins to Venkatesh, FOUR! This is wonderful batting from the left-hander. She shuffled across to get some room and pulled the short ball over deep mid-wicket. Cummins to Shreyas, FOUR! The skipper takes on the skipper and this time the KKR skipper guides the short ball for a boundary towards third man. 

Vijayakanth Viyaskanth in the attack. Vijayakanth to Venkatesh, SIX! That has gone way too long in the stands. Flighted delivery onto the legs and Venkatesh goes on his knees to get the full flow of the bat. 5 more singles fetch 11 runs from this over. 

Pat Cummins back into the attack. FOUR! Narine slashes and the edge flies inches over a diving keeper. OUT! Narine is caught at square leg. 

Sunil Narine c Viyaskanth b Cummins 21 (16)

Captain Shreyas Iyer into the middle. A single to third man to get off the mark. Venkatesh misses a ramp shot. SIX! Venkatesh charges down on the fifth the tonks the ball over long off.

Natarajan again. Quite a few delays in the over. Narine needs his bat checked after the first delivery. On the second, a bouncer thuds onto his helmet and he goes through a concussion check. The first run comes after four deliveries courtesy of an overhead wide. FOUR! Narine pulls this short delivery away between mid wicket and long on. A full toss to end, Narine drives to long on to take a single.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Venkatesh, FOUR! On the pads again and the batter laps it up. FOUR over mid off on the third delivery. Eight runs off the over.

Natarajan for the first time. WICKET! Natarajan strikes! Gurbaz slashes and picks the covers fielder. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Viyaskanth b Natarajan 23 (14)

Venkatesh Iyer at No. 3. A first delivery angling down leg, Venkatesh guides it down to the fine leg fence for FOUR! A single on the second delivery. Two dots to finish the over.

Bhuvneshwar to Narine, a full delivery, the ball strikes the pad and runs to the fence. SRH has asked for another review. Looks like there is an inside edge. It is pitching outside leg and SRH loses its second review too. A single to long on on the second delivery. SIX! Gurbaz steps down the track and clubs it down the ground. FOUR now! A cross-batted swipe to clear the fielder inside the circle. Gurbaz cuts the fifth through covers for one. Narine collects two through long on on the final delivery.

Pat Cummins to Narine, FOUR! Lofts the over-pitched delivery just wide of mid off. FOUR more! Makes space for himself by clearing out the front leg, slams it past mid on. A bouncer to follow from Cummins, Narine gets a top edge but it falls short of deep mid wicket; one run. Four leg byes for Gurbaz, Cummins is appealing for an LBW and goes up for a review. It is going down the leg, shows the ball tracker and SRH loses a review. SIX! Gurbaz gets a leading edge on an attempted on side heave, flies over the third man. A wide makes it 20 runs of the over.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bowl the first over. Gurbaz on strike. At a length on off stump, Gurbaz steps out and defends. FOUR! Driven through covers, Gurbaz off the mark in style. Klaasen comes up to the stumps. The fourth delivery is outside off and Gurbaz misses his drive. Two runs through point on the fifth delivery.

Pat Cummins leads his players out of the dug out.

Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz opening for KKR.

A spirited rearguard act from skipper Pat Cummins has ensured SRH ended with a respectable total. But it has all been about KKR’s bowling attack which fired in unison. Starc struck the initial blows, before the other pitched in. SRH’s blushes were saved to an extent by a superb fifty from Rahul Tripathi, who was eventually dismissed following an unfortunate dismissal. Cummins ensured SRH ended on a high. But will that be enough against an in-form KKR batting unit?

Russell with the final over. Viyaskanth slices one to deep point and looks set to get a double before a misfield allows SRH to get an extra run. Cummins attempts a flick, but top edges it for Gurbaz to take an easy catch. 

Pat Cummins c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Russell 30 (24b 2x4 2x6)

​

IPL 2024: List of lowest totals defended in Indian Premier League playoffs

KKR vs SRH Qualifier 1: Here is the list of lowest team totals defended in a playoffs match of the Indian Premier League.

Cummins vs Starc. Not everyday you can see this sight. Cummins manages to squeeze a single away. Viyaskanth does likewise. Cross seam from Starc and Cummins misjudjes it completely. Skews off the top edge and flies away for a six. Wide yorker now from Starc and Cummins slices it past point for a four. 

Cummins with an unbelievably well-timed reverse hit against Varun Chakravarthy. SIX!!! Few more singles follow as SRH continues to keep it moving forward. Cummins keeps hold off the strike. 

SRH down to its last wicket. It all comes down to skipper Cummins, who is on strike against Harshit Rana. The KKR pacers gets the best of Cummins twice, with slower balls. Another slower ball. This time Cummins nudges it to third man for a single. Viyaskanth gives the strike back to his skipper with a single. Width on offer from Harshit and Cummins expertly guides it past point for a four. A single last ball ensures Cummins retains the strike. 

Varun Chakravarthy with the 16th. Pat Cummins on strike. Three dot balls to start with. The SRH skipper looks to break free with a wild slog. Poor connection, but the ball lands short of the long on fielder. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the batter at the other end and he is trapped in front by a Chakravarthy in-drifter. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar lbw b Varun 0 (4b 0x4 0x6)

SRH 126/9 in 16 overs

Harshit Rana with his third over of the day. Gets a dot ball against Samad to start with. Couple of singles follow. Harshit ticks Samad with a slower ball. Edged and an easy catch for Shreyas Iyer at long off. 

Abdul Samad c SS Iyer b Harshit Rana 16 (12b 0x4 2x6)

SRH 125/8 in 15 overs

You can’t keep Narine out for too long. SRH’s impact player Sanvir Singh is treated to a trademark magical ball from Sunil Narine. The middle stump is knocked back. SRH in deep, deep trouble. 

Sanvir Singh b Narine 0 (1b 0x4 0x6)

SRH 123/7 in 14 overs

SRH continues to take on Narine. It is Samad again. Steps down before slamming it over the mid wicket fence for another six. 

SUPERB FIELDING! Samad sets off for a non-existent run after a dab. Russell dives to his right before throwing it to Gurbaz. Tripathi is left stranded in the middle of the pitch. Huge Wicket!

Rahul Tripathi run out (Russell/†Rahmanullah Gurbaz) 55 (35b 7x4 1x6)

Varun Chakravarthy starts with a leg-side wide. A dot ball follows. Chakravarthy sticks to a good length, not letting Tripathi nor Samad get underneath the ball. Just five runs from the over. 

Narine continues to get punished. New batter Samad is the aggressor this time. Smacks it over long on for a massive six. Narine can only look at in disbelief. Narine keeps it quiet for the rest of the over. 

Varun Chakravarthy with the ball and he oversteps first ball. But the spinner bowls an inch-perfect yorker to prevent any damages from the freehit. Rahul Tripathi brings out the reverse sweep to counter Varun. Superb timing. Four and that brings up his fifty. FIFTY!!

Varun pitches it full and Klaasen looks to launch it over mid wicket fence, but he fails. BIG WICKET!!

Heinrich Klaasen c Singh b Varun 32 (21b 3x4 1x6)

Russell gets his first over of the day. Pitches it short and wide. Klaasen goes after it with an uppish slash. FOUR!! Tripathi doesn’t want to be left behind. Short again from Russell. Tripathi upper cuts it over the keeper for a four. 50 PARTNERSHIP COMES UP!!

Narine vs Klaasen. The South African taps one to long on to take a single first ball of the over. Straight from Narine and Tripathi brings out the scoop. Brave shot and is rewarded with a four. Sweeps the next one and gets a single. Length from Narine and Klaasen stays rooted in his crease before launching it over long off for a six. Narine sticks to his length and Klaasen whacks it for a four through covers. 

Harshit Rana from the other end as Arora rests after three overs. A couple of singles to start the over. Add two more singles and a wide before Tripathi graciously deposits a short ball over the fence. He kept low and played a ramp shot straight behind the keeper. 12 from this over. 

Okay, so the man on the hat trick, Mitchell Starc would not continue. It is Sunil Narine who replaces him in the attack. Both Tripathi and Klaasen are limited to singles in this over. The duo certainly wants to go easy against Narine. Just five off the over. 50 up for SRH. 

Shreyas stays with Vaibhav Arora. The new batter, Klaasen gets off the mark with a FOUR! He picks the short-length delivery early and opens his arm, slashing it fine towards third man. Only six off this over as SRH could only manage 45 in the PowerPlay. 

Starc with his third over. Starc to Nitish, FOUR! Ah, cracking shot from the young man to start the over. He stands still and crunches the short ball towards backward point for a boundary. Starc to Nitish, OUT! Starc gets his revenge quite quickly. Short and into the body, Nitish tries to pull but the ball does not get elevation and Gurbaz collects an easy peasy catch. 

WICKET | Nitish Reddy c Gurbaz b Starc 9(10)

In comes Shahbaz Ahmed at number five. Starc to Shahbaz, OUT! Would you believe this? SRH is crumbling down and how? Starc welcomes Shahbaz with his deadly inswinging yorker which uproots Shahbaz’s stumps. Six runs and two wickets from this over. 

WICKET | Shahbaz Ahmed b Starc 0(1)

Vaibhav Arora continues. Arora to Tripathi, FOUR! Too full and on the radar for Tripathi who flicks it over mid-wicket. It is a NO BALL TOO! Arora oversteps but Tripathi could not do much with the free hit. Nitish Reddy had to dive his way to the non-striker’s end to end the over with a risky single. 12 off this over. 

​

IPL 2024: Why are green tree symbols showing up for every dot ball during KKR vs SRH Qualifier 1 match?

The step was a part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s green initiative, implemented during the IPL 2023 playoffs as well.

Starc continues. Tripathi and Nitish Kumar Reddy are forced into the rebuild mode. FOUR! A single and a wide before Tripathi shuffles across to scoop the short ball as the ball races away to the fence past the wicketkeeper. Starc produces another beauty, the ball swings in and hits Tripathi in the pads first. Huge LBW appeal followed but the on-field decision favours SRH. 8 off the over. 

Vaibhav Arora with the new ball from the other end. Abhishek gets his first piece of action. Drives one to deep cover to gather couple of runs. Vaibhav tries to keep it away from Abhishek and ends up giving a wide. Couple of singles follow. 

Full and wide from Vaibhav and Abhishek chases after it. No timing there. Russell completes a clean catch after a well-timed leap. SRH TOTTERING!!

Abhishek Sharma c Russell b Arora 3 (4b 0x4 0x6)

SRH 13/2 in 2 overs

Starc pushes it in. But, Rahul Tripathi is ready for it as he squeezes it away past the point fielder. FOUR!!! First runs on the board. Tripathi has one more in him. This time a more flamboyant stroke through covers. 

Swing for Starc straight away. Driven by Head to covers. No run there. Abhishek forced to scamper back to the non-striker’s end. 

Starc swings it in second ball. Head misses the line completely. STUMPS, CLATTERED!!!

Travis Head b Starc 0 (2b 0x4 0x6)

SRH openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have made their way out to the middle. Mitchell Starc with the ball for KKR. A spot in the final up for grabs. Here we go. 

​

KKR vs SRH Qualifier 1, IPL 2024: Three key matchups to look forward to between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad first qualifier match is a case of a batter-dominant side taking on a team that backs its bowling unit.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan.

Impact Sub options: Sanvir Singh, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Impact Sub options: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, KS Bharat, Sherfaine Rutherford

Sunrisers Hyderabad wins the toss and opts to bat.

Pat Cummins: We are going to have a bat, looks like a good wicket and expect a high-scoring game. The batting group has been amazing for us and hopefully more of the same tonight. We are playing pretty much the same eleven as the last game.

Shreyas Iyer: I would have loved to bowl. I had a chat with the curator and he said it’s a mixed soil, let’s see how it plays, hoping for a good game. Important that we keep the momentum going and stay in the present. We are going with the same team.

Matthew Hayden: The pitch looks dry. Will suit bowlers who will use the pace off deliveries. Around the good length, there’s a bit of moisture, but it is hard. The power-hitters will play a major role here, looks like a good batting wicket. Won’t spin much.

WICKET KEEPERS

Heinrich Klaasen

BATTERS

Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma (c), Shreyas Iyer

ALL ROUNDERS

Andre Russell, Sunil Narine (vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy

BOWLERS

Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, T. Natarajan, Varun Chakaravarthy

Team Composition: KKR 5-6 SRH | Credits Left: 6.5

Played: 3

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2

Last Result: SRH beat KKR by 14 runs (IPL 2018, Qualifier 2)

Played: 26

Kolkata Knight Riders: 16

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 9

Tied: 1

Last Result: KKR beat SRH by four runs (IPL 2024, Eden Gardens)

Bat 1st: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghvanshi, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.

Bowl 1st: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora.

Impact Player options:Vaibhav Arora/Rinku Singh, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Sherfane Rutherford, KS Bharat.

Bat 1st: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), K. Nitesh Reddy, Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T. Natarajan.

Bowl 1st: Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), K. Nitesh Reddy, Abdul Samad, Sanvir Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T. Natarajan.

Impact Player options: Abhishek Sharma/Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Umran Malik, Upendra Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips

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

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