SRH record lowest score in IPL finals; Russell takes three
A concerted bowling effort from Kolkata Knight Riders triggered Sunrisers Hyderabad's collapse in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) final in Chennai. The Orange Army were bundled out for a mere 113, now the lowest-ever score in an IPL final. While Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana took two wickets each, Andre Russell finished with a three-wicket haul. Here are the key stats.
Summary of SRH's innings
Starc knocked over Abhishek Sharma with a peach in first over after SRH elected to bat. Meanwhile, Vaibhab Arora dismissed Travis Head to bring SRH down to 6/2. The in-form Rahul Tripathi also fell to Starc within the Powerplay. SRH lost consecutive wickets and slumped to 77/7 thereafter. Pat Cummins's 19-ball 24 then powered SRH to 113. Russell finished with three wickets.
The pick of KKR's bowlers
Russell first dismissed Aiden Markram, who was beginning to build a partnership with Heinrich Klaasen. The former struck in his very first over. In his second over, Russell got rid of Abdul Samad. He eventually returned to dismisse the SRH skipper. Russell bagged figures worth 3/19 in 2.3 overs. He was clearly the pick of KKR's bowlers.
Lowest score in IPL finals
As mentioned, SRH recorded the lowest-ever score in an IPL final. The previous-lowest was 125/9 by Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians in the 2013 final. Notably, SRH also registered their joint second-lowest totals in IPL history. They also scored 115 against MI in Hyderabad in 2015. Their lowest IPL score (96) came in in 2019 against the same opposition.
KKR bowlers shine in Chennai
As per Cricbuzz, this was the first time when no player from a team reached 30 in an IPL final. This was also the second instance of six different bowlers to take a wicket in an IPL final.
Russell's best bowling returns in IPL 2024
Russell's 3/19 in the final were his best bowling returns of IPL 2024. He finished the season with 19 wickets from 15 games at an incredible average of 15.53. His economy rate in the season read 10.06. Overall, Russell raced to 115 wickets in 127 IPL matches. He averages 23.01 in the cash-rich league. Russell also owns over 2,400 IPL runs.
