Shortly after Kolkata Knight Riders won their third IPL title with an eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, in-form all-rounder Sunil Narine delighted team mentor Gautam Gambhir and the two-time IPL-winning captain was delighted too. The biggest talk for KKR ahead of IPL 2024 was how they would perform with Gambhir returning as mentor, with the aim to end a decade-long trophy drought that he spoke about in his first team speech at the pre-season camp in Kolkata. On Sunday, Gambhir stayed true to his words as KKR won their third IPL title and 12 years after winning the championship for the first time in 2012.
Nitish Rana told broadcasters after the final, “I want to share a small story that when GG Bhaiya was made the mentor, I sent him a long message because I was really happy. But he replied saying, “Thank you but I will be happy if we stand on the podium with the trophy in our hands.” Today is that day and I will never forget that message.”
KKR’s IPL 2024 win, shaped by their bowlers as they bowled out SRH for just 113, also pleased assistant coach and KKR academy head Abhishek Nayar, who was called up to be joined by leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
“It means everything. I started playing IPL in the first season and it took me 16 years to win my first title after two finals. I am really happy for the boys. I can’t express how happy I am. The big guy (Andre Russell) is back as usual. It’s the most surreal feeling I’ve had in a long time.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Venkatesh Iyer, who top-scored with an unbeaten 52 off 26 balls in a chase of 114. “I am very happy with it. As Varun said, Abhishek Nair deserves all the credit in the world for this.”
“Some contributions go unnoticed, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen. This guy deserves all the praise in the world for the way he’s done things for this franchise. This win is for the fans who have come every year and waited for 10 years.”
Talking about Russell, his performance with KKR in IPL last year was poor and some fans demanded his ouster from the team. But this year Russell proved to be a key player in KKR’s victory and this big-hitting all-rounder was moved to tears.
“There are no words to describe it. It means a lot. I’m glad we were all very disciplined and working towards a goal. This franchise has done a lot for me. This is a great gift from all of us to them.”
Rinku Singh is very happy to be the player who won the IPL with KKR. “It feels great right now. My seven-year dream has come true. I will finally lift the trophy. I am proud of my entire team and GG sir. It was God’s plan.”
Fast bowler Vaibhav Arora, who shone along with Harshit Rana this season, is happy to play his part in KKR’s spectacular victory. “My role is to take wickets with the new ball. After that the spinners were doing their job. So today also the target was to take wickets in the powerplay, which happened.”
Bowling coach Bharat Arun said it is a moment the whole unit will enjoy. “I think the last two years have been tough. It was very difficult – we couldn’t qualify. It required a lot of introspection and now we can enjoy this moment. He (Harshit Rana) has been fantastic. It’s all about backing your strengths.”
He also admitted that the inclusion of Mitchell Starc was a huge boost for the team. “I think Mitchell’s inclusion in the team has given confidence to the other youngsters in the team. He is probably the best bowler in the world. Once he understood the Indian conditions, he performed brilliantly.”
Arun also praised the move to bring in Narine as an opener, which was proposed by Gambhir. “Spinners mature with age, and the way Sunny and Varun bowled in tandem was fantastic. He (Narine) added a completely different dimension to our batting. Gautam insisted that he open and it paid off. It’s a great night and now it’s time to celebrate.”
Opener-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz was included in the KKR squad late due to the excellent performance of Phil Salt and had to return home due to his mother’s ill health. Now he has become a two-time IPL winner by becoming a part of the Gujarat Titans team in 2022.
“My mom is watching from home. She is feeling better now. I asked mom before the match if she wanted anything. She said just want to win. When playing Salt, I didn’t expect to get a chance, but I knew it was a long tournament and I needed to be ready. Once I got the chance, I was well prepared.”
Currently, the KKR camp is buzzing with celebrations, with Harshit Rana saying, “I can’t explain how happy I am.” Angkrish Raghuvanshi echoed the same sentiment. “It hasn’t crossed people’s minds yet. Maybe it will cross their minds after the party at night.”
All-rounder Ramandeep Singh said he will be busy selecting songs for KKR’s party in Chennai. “I am really happy. We have worked really hard for this, so I am very happy. It is a great atmosphere. Poora gah paaya hai. I am the DJ, I play songs as per the demand of the people.”
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