NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title with a commanding eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final in Chennai on Sunday.
SRH captain
Pat Cummins
' decision to bat first backfired as his team was bowled out for a mere 113 runs in 18.3 overs.
Andre Russell
was the standout performer with the ball for KKR, taking 3-19 in the lopsided contest at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
KKR chased down the target efficiently in just 10.3 overs, with
Venkatesh Iyer
spearheading the effort with an unbeaten 52 off 26 balls.
After battling for this elusive trophy for the last two months, all the KKR players were overjoyed and expressed their emotions in their own inimitable style:
Andre Russell: "No words to describe [holds his tears]. It means so much. 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."
Rinku Singh: "My dream of seven years is complete. Finally I will lift the trophy. I am proud of my whole team and GG sir. It was God's plan."
Venkatesh Iyer: "Really happy with it. As Varun mentioned,
Abhishek Nayar
deserves all the credit in the world. Some contributions go unnoticed, I want to make sure they don't. This guy deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has been working for this franchise. This win is for the fans who turned up year after year and waited for ten years."
Abhishek Nayar: "It means everything. I started playing in the IPL in the first season and it has taken me 16 years for the first title after two finals. I am really happy for the boys. I cannot express how happy I am. The big man [Russell] turning up as usual. It is the most surreal feeling I have had in a long time."
Varun Chakravarathy: "All I can think right now is of the person who built this Indian core: Abhishek Nayar."
Ramandeep Singh: "It's a great environment. Poora gaah payeya hoeya hai [We have had a ball]. I am the DJ, I play the song people demand."
Suyash Sharma: "The environment was great, thanks to GG sir and other coached."
Angkrish Raghuvanshi: "It's yet to sink in yet. Maybe it will be after the party at night."
Vaibhav Arora: "My role is to take wickets with the new ball. After that the spinners were doing their jobs. So today also the aim was to take wickets in the powerplay, which happened as well."
Nitish Rana: "I want to share one short story that when GG bhaiya was named the mentor, I sent him a long message as I was really happy. But he replied saying, "Thank you but I would be happy if we stand at the podium with the trophy in our hands. Today is that day and I will never forget that message."
Ramandeep Singh: "I am really happy. We worked really hard for it, so I'm feeling really happy."
Harshit Rana: "I cannot tell how happy I am."
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