Toss: SRH won the toss and opted to bat first
First innings: KKR 114/2 (10.3)
Second innings: SRH 113 (18.3)
And that’s the end of a long season of the Indian Premier League. Worthy winners, one would say. That will be all from us. Thanks for joining us.
Shreyas Iyer, KKR captain: It was comprehensive. This is what we demanded from the players and they stood up. Today, we were lucky enough to bowl first. Everything went our way. Congrats to SRH for the way they played throughout. It was a high-pressure game and Mitchell Starc had been so good off-field. Phenomenal work ethic, something to learn for youngsters. [Andre] Russell has got a magic wand and he is always looking towards me to bowl. In the majority of the games, he gave us breakthroughs. Venkatesh Iyer made things easy for us. As I said earlier, everyone stepped up. There was no one individual who took us here. It was a cumulative effort. It was a flawless season for us.
Pat Cummins, SRH captain: They bowled fantastically. Old mate Starcy turned up again! Not enough tonight, we were totally outplayed. They didn't give us anything. If we got 160, we felt we would have been in the game. So many [positives in the season], the style with which the guys played especially with the bat. Lot of skills to get to 250 three times. I loved how brave the guys were. It was a lot of fun, great season.
Orange Cap winner - Virat Kohli (741 runs)
Purple Cap winner - Harshal Patel - (24 wickets)
Most Valuable Player - Sunil Narine (488 runs and 17 wickets)
Emerging Player of the season - Nitish Kumar Reddy
Fairplay Award - Sunrisers Hyderabad
Mitchell Starc, player of the match: Great night for KKR. What a game, what a season. Probably the two most exciting teams in the final, it was a great final. We have had a fantastic squad of bowlers and batters, our staff have been fantastic to get everyone peaking. We've been such a consistent side, contributions from everyone. We lost the toss and got to use the ball first. Having watched the match a few nights ago here, not really what the wicket was going to do. It was about adapting. Shreyas [Iyer] was fantastic with the way he used the bowlers and fields. Credits to him.
SRH vs KKR, final: He’s a million dollar baby for a reason! Mitchell Starc is awarded the player of the match for his 2/14 in the final. Stepped up in the Qualifier 1 and on the night of the final.
SRH vs KKR, final: A great run for both the teams, the table-toppers of this season but eventually Kolkata Knight Riders prevail against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It's been a decade in the making but Shreyas Iyer and Co have brought it home in style. They finished top of the table after the league stage and now at the podium.
Sunrisers Hyderabad put forth some record-breaking batting performances in the season. But on the night it mattered, it wasn't meant to be.
Kolkata's bowlers stepped up right from the get go. From big match player Mitchell Starc to Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora chipping in and Andre Russell finishing with a three-for. Spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy were at their economical best.
Hyderabad lost Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma for ducks and never recovered in their innings. Eventually, it proved to be a cakewalk for Kolkata's batters with Venkatesh Iyer and Rahmanullah Gurbaz leading the way.
Abhishek Nayar, KKR’s assistant coach: It means everything. It has taken a very long time. I have been with the IPL for 16 years and it has taken me so many years to be a champion.
Bharat Arun, KKR's bowling coach: It has been pretty tough the last two years, we didn't qualify and there has been introspection and we worked on areas which needed to be worked on. [on Harshit Rana] He has been outstanding and it's about the bowler understanding what his strengths are and when he does, it comes out beautifully on the ground. Mitch [Starc] coming into the team boosted the confidence of the other youngsters. He has been one of the best bowlers in world cricket and he has been in such situations before, it's about understanding Indian conditions and once he did that, it is magic all over. They have been outstanding, spinners mature with age, both bowling in tandem has worked exceptionally for us.
KKR innings summary: A one-sided IPL if there was! All it took was 10.3 overs for KKR to chase the target down. Venkatesh Iyer was in some form and brought up a half-century in a crucial game. Sunil Narine was dismissed early but Gurbaz Rahmanullah played a solid anchoring role during his 32-ball 39.
KKR 114/2 (10.3 overs): KKR win by 8 wickets! Shreyas Iyer leads Kolkata to their third IPL title. Venkatesh Iyer with a solid half-century fittingly hits the winning runs.
KKR 102/2 (8.5 overs): WICKET! Gurbaz has to walk back after scoring 32 as Shahbaz picks the second KKR wicket to fall. Easy peasy for KKR, still.
KKR 72/1 (6 overs): KKR just need 21 runs to win now. What a one sided contest this turned out to be! Gurbaz and Iyer keep the runs coming against Shahbaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat.
KKR 72/1 (6 overs): Venkatesh is in a hurry to finish things off quickly. It’s the end of powerplay and KKR need just 48 runs to win this. Cummins concedes just 6 runs but Natarajan has been taken on for 20 runs in his over. Three fours and a six in that over.
KKR 50/1 (4 overs): Venkatesh Iyer is in some form. A boundary and two sixes to follow in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over. He’s been taken on for 20 runs. T Natarajan concedes just 9 in the next and there is a run-out opportunity from Nitish Reddy at cover. Gurbaz was nearly gone.
KKR 17/1 (2 overs): Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine came on with the intent early on. 5 runs off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over, 12 runs off Pat Cummins’. It definitely wasn’t the pitch, you guys.
KKR 11/1 (1.2 overs): WICKET! Interesting. Pat Cummins strikes in his very first over and Sunil Narine departs after a six.
Time for the Kolkata Knight Riders to begin their chase. Sunil Narine and Phil Salt to open the innings.
Innings summary:
SRH innings summary: This SRH innings just straight up went awry from the get go. The pitch wasn't a batting paradise, but it definitely had more than 113 runs. There was swing, bounce, and grip for the bowlers and KKR capitalized on that superbly by consistently hitting the right areas.
SRH 113 all out (18.3 overs): WICKET! Pat Cummins falls for 24 and Sunrisers Hyderabad are wrapped up for 113. Russell completes his three-wicket haul. It's a full delivery with pace on it, right in the hitting zone for Cummins. He makes the connection, but fails to get the desired elevation and directly into the Starc’s hands at long-on. What a bowling performance from KKR.
SRH 113/9 (18 overs): WICKET! Jaydev Unadkat departs. Narine bowls an off-break spinning sharply, Unadkat leans forward to defend, but misses the ball completely and is caught on the inside edge and struck on the pad. There was a bit of confusion there and KKR opted to go in for a review that goes in their favour. The ball hit the stumps and light them up but the bails didn’t fall.
SRH 98/8 (16 overs): A wicket maiden over from Harshit Rana followed by the 8 runs from Narine. Starc drops a sitter in Narine’s over as Cummins get another life. With just five overs to go, the task at hand is to bat through 20 overs and push for a respectable total. The onus will be on Pat Cummins.
SRH 90/8 (14.1 overs): WICKET! It gets bad to worse for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Klaasen was the last specialist batter for SRH. Harshit Rana with his second wicket.
SRH 77/7 (12.4 overs): WICKET! Kolkata Knight Riders are on fire. Second wicket for Russell. Excellent catch by Gurbaz. Impact sub Abdul Samad returns without making an impact.
SRH 71/5 (12.4 overs): WICKET! Yet another bowler who makes an impact in his opening over as Varun Chakravarthy. Playing the sweep shot on a pitch with noticeable bounce proves costly for Shahbaz Ahmed as he succumbs to the mistake.
SRH 71/5 (10.2 overs): WICKET! Andre Russell with the wicket. And Sunrisers continue to plummet. A delivery of short length with added bounce unsettles Markram as he attempts a pull shot, but the extra bounce causes him to misconnect.
SRH 61/4 (10 overs): Heinrich Klaasen with a four of Harshit Rana. Sunil Narine with the three runs off his over.
SRH 51/4 (8 overs): The spinners come on. Sunil Narine concedes just four runs in the over.
SRH 47/4 (6.5 overs): WICKET! Edged and caught! Nitish Rana's downfall was triggered by a clever change of pace. After delivering three slower deliveries, Harshit unleashed the ideal away swinger, pitching on off and subtly moving away. Gurbaz takes a second catch of the night, firmly establishing KKR's current dominance.
SRH 40/3 (6 overs): End of powerplay and Sunrisers Hyderabad are in a fix. Kolkata Knight Riders have taken out their top-order and Starc has decided to turn up and how. He has taken out two out of the three wickets so far.
SRH 21/3 (4.2 overs): WICKET! Sunrisers top-order in disarray! Tripathi plays one across the line as Starc draws a leading edge and Ramandeep takes the catch.
SRH 21/2 (4 overs): Starc and Arora continue their spells. While Tripathi and Aiden Markram take on Starc for a boundary each, Arora concedes three wides in his over.
SRH 6/2 in (1.6 overs): WICKET! What a start for KKR. Travis Head is out for a duck too! Vaibhav Arora bowls a delivery on a good length, angling across the left-handed batsman. Despite Head's minimal foot movement, he found himself reaching for the ball leading to an edge. Gurbaz takes a clean catch.
SRH 2/1 (0.5 overs): WICKET! Mitchell Starc knocks over Abhishek Sharma’s stumps. The explosive opener is out for a duck. An absolute peach of a delivery. Angled in, enticed Abhishek to lean forward before sharply veering away, exposing the left-handed batter brushing the outer edge of his off-stump.
Sunrisers openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma are out in the middle.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing XI: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan
Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Toss: Sunrisers Hyderabad win the toss and opt to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Hello and welcome to Scroll’s coverage of the IPL final between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The two-time title holders, Kolkata Knight Riders, are set to clash with the 2016 champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad in the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Both teams have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to enhance their trophy cabinets after taking on a pretty dominant journey to the finals in this edition.
Will Hyderabad get their hands on the second trophy or will Kolkata become three-time champions?
Screenshots courtesy Jio Cinema, IPLT20.com