Kolkata Knight Riders lifted their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title with an eight-wicket thrashing of Sunrisers Hyderabad in a lop-sided final in Chennai on Sunday.
Kolkata, who topped the group stage of the 10-team league, had beaten Hyderabad in the first qualifier on Tuesday and were even more dominant in the summit clash, which lasted 29 overs.
Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins was left to rue his decision to bat first as his side got skittled out for 113 runs in 18.3 overs.
Player-of-the-match Mitchell Starc produced a double strike while his new ball partner Vaibhav Arora dismissed the dangerous Travis Head for a first ball duck to rattle Hyderabad.
Kolkata’s talismanic all-rounder Andre Russell claimed three crucial wickets, including those of South African Aiden Markram and rival captain Cummins, as Hyderabad wilted inside 19 overs.
Defending the lowest total in an IPL final, Cummins removed Sunil Narine in the second over but the miracle they needed did not materialise.
Venkatesh Iyer, who smashed an unbeaten 52 off 26 balls, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (39) helped Kolkata romp home in 10.3 overs in front of a sea of purple jerseys that included franchise co-owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
“No words to describe (the feeling). It means so much,” West Indies stalwart Russell said wiping away tears.
“I am happy that all of us were very disciplined and worked towards one goal. This franchise has done a lot for me. It’s a big gift from all of us to them.”
It was a special night for Kolkata mentor Gautam Gambhir, who captained the franchise to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
“I thought they (Kolkata) bowled fantastically. Obviously not enough (from Hyderabad) tonight… They didn’t give us anything,” Cummins said of his side’s batting effort.
“It was a tricky wicket. I didn’t feel it was like a 200-plus wicket. I think 160 would have given us a chance.”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru crashed out in the playoffs but stalwart Virat Kohli won the orange cap as the league’s leading scorer with 741 runs from 15 matches.
Punjab Kings seamer Harshal Patel won the purple cap for the league’s most successful bowler with 24 wickets from 14 matches even though his team did not make the playoffs.
Kolkata’s Narine was adjudged the season’s Most Valuable Player for his all-round brilliance.
