Shreyas Iyer becomes first-ever captain with this feat in IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad to reach the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) final. The Knight Riders successfully chased down 160 after bowling SRH out in Qualifier 1. Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer powered their chase. Notably, Shreyas has become the first-ever player to lead multiple sides to IPL finals. Delhi Capitals played the 2020 IPL final under him.
Shreyas enters record books
As mentioned, Shreyas is now the only player to have led multiple teams to IPL finals. Before joining the Knight Riders, Shreyas was a part of DC's steup. In 2020, the Capitals reached their first-ever final under the leadership of Shreyas. DC eventually lost a high-octane final to Mumbai Indians (MI). They failed to defend a modest 156.
Fifth captain with this feat
Overall, Shreyas has become the fifth player to reach multiple IPL finals as captain. He joined Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, and Hardik Pandya for this record.
Shreyas plays a captain's knock against SRH
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine gave KKR a flying start as they were 44/0 after three overs. The duo departed eventually (67/2). Venkatesh (51* off 28 balls) and Shreyas (58* off 24 balls) then made the run-chase one-sided, with the former being the aggressor. Both Shreyas and Venkatesh smashed 5 fours and 4 sixes. Shreyas played a captain's knock after being dropped twice.
Multiple fifty-plus scores in IPL playoffs
It is worth noting that KKR were cruising at 142/2 after 13 overs. Shreyas notched up 3 sixes and a four in the next four balls to get KKR home, which also brought up his fifty. Notably, Shreyas became the fourth player with multiple fifty-plus scores as captain in the IPL playoffs. He joined Dhoni, Rohit, and David Warner for this record.
