KKR vs SRH, IPL 2024. (Source -IPL/BCCI)
It was a night to forget for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as they fell short against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2024 final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
After electing to bat first, SRH’s innings never got going as they were bundled out for a mere 113, which KKR chased down with relative ease as they won the summit clash by eight wickets and 57 balls to spare.
SRH’s assistant coach Simon Helmot admitted his side’s plans weren’t executed well. He admitted the side had the plan to play fearless cricket but unfortunately, the results didn’t go their way which cost them the title.
“We were not going to change our brand or approach. We wanted to be aggressive but also smart and work the situations through. Our plan certainly wasn’t to get bowled out for 113 in the 18th over. We played positively, but a few good deliveries early on put us on the back foot. Unfortunately, it was one of those days,” Helmot said in the post-match press conference.
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We have got to give credit to KKR: Simon Helmot
The 52-year-old was opened up about the early dismissals of openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head inside the first two overs. While Sharma fell to a peach of a delivery from Mitchell Starc, an excellent delivery by Vaibhav Arora resulted in Head returning to the pavilion
“Travis is experienced in playing left-arm pace. We have had games where both he and Abhishek have scored runs. We couldn’t get as much from the middle order as we would have liked, but it was a fairly good ball to get rid of him,” he added.
From thereon, SRH’s innings failed to gather any momentum as KKR’s bowling attack led by the brilliant Harshit Rana (2/24) and Andre Russell (3/19) picked regular wickets.
“We have got to give credit to KKR. They have had a great season, winning 79 percent of their games and playing an aggressive brand with the bat, ball, and on the field. But, we will come hard next season. They are a very balanced unit with their four pace bowlers and two very accomplished spinners. They have been a terrific team with an excellent batting depth and are deserving victors in this IPL,” he continued.
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While missing the chance to lift their second IPL title, Helmot did pick out a few positives for SRH including the form of pacers T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and the all-round abilities of Nitish Kumar Reddy. He insisted the disappointment of the final would motivate them for next season.
“I think Nattu and Bhuvi had a terrific finish to the season, along with Nitish Reddy, who is also probably one of the best fielders in the competition. It’s no fluke that we managed to turn the tables from our finish last year. We will use it as a catalyst coming into the season next year,” he concluded