Kolkata Knight Riders' Third IPL Title Win, 1st without Shakib

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) first won the IPL (Indian Premier League) title in 2012. They tasted victory for the second time in 2014. On both occasions, Shakib Al Hasan was a part of the KKR squad. However, during their third title win in the 2024 IPL, Shakib was not part of Shreyas Iyer's team.

In the final, Kolkata Knight Riders clinched their third title by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad decisively. The Sunrisers, who won their lone title in 2016, had to be content with just one championship for now. In 2016, Mustafizur Rahman played for the Sunrisers and was named the Emerging Player of the season.

### Kolkata Knight Riders Clinch Third IPL Title in 2024

In the 2024 IPL final at Chennai's M. Chidambaram Stadium, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and opted to bat first. However, the team, known for their power hitting throughout the tournament, struggled to find their rhythm in this crucial match.

Sunrisers’ troubles began early when opener Abhishek Sharma was bowled out by a stunning delivery from Mitchell Starc on the fifth ball of the first over. His opening partner, Travis Head, was dismissed on the last ball of the second over, giving a catch to Rahmanullah Gurbaz off Vaibhav Arora's bowling, departing for a golden duck.

Coming in at number three, Rahul Tripathi couldn't reach double figures, scoring only 9 runs off 13 balls before becoming Mitchell Starc's second victim. At number four, Aiden Markram struggled, managing a few runs but consuming a lot of deliveries. Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 13 runs, and Heinrich Klaasen added 16.

Apart from these, only captain Pat Cummins reached double digits, scoring 24 runs off 19 balls to help his team surpass the 100-run mark. Sunrisers Hyderabad were bowled out for 113 runs in 18.3 overs.

Andre Russell was the standout bowler for KKR, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs. Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana each took 2 wickets, while Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, and Varun Chakravarthy claimed one wicket apiece.

In response, Kolkata Knight Riders lost Sunil Narine in the second over after he scored 6 runs off 2 balls. However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer formed a crucial second-wicket partnership of 91 runs. Gurbaz scored 39 before getting out, but Venkatesh Iyer remained unbeaten, scoring 52 runs off 26 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Captain Shreyas Iyer stayed not out, contributing 6 runs off 3 balls to see his team home.

KKR secured the victory with 8 wickets in hand, finishing at 114/2 in 10.3 overs, thereby clinching their third IPL title.