Description
Have you seen a more dominant campaign than this? KKR looked like champions and played like champions, winning the IPL 2024 trophy in style. They won 9 out of 14 matches in the league stage and hammered the SunRisers in Qualifier 1 to progress to the final. Let's not talk about the title match! It was one of the most one-sided tournament finals, definitely the most one-sided IPL final.
Shreyas Iyer became only the fifth Indian captain after MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya to win the IPL trophy. For Gambhir, it was a sensational return to Kolkata as the team's mentor. And for Pat Cummins, it was the first major tournament defeat as captain. Many Indian fans joked about SRH choking on Sunday, wondering why another team led by Cummins did not choke on November 19, 2023.
KKR's dominant run brings us to this question: Who should take credit for their triumph? Should it be Gautam Gambhir? Yes, he deserves a lot of credit for the glorious run. Having taken over as the mentor, Gambhir brought role clarity and kept the team focused on the ultimate prize. Then there is coach Chandrakant Pandit, who has added the IPL crown to his decorated trophy cabinet.
How much credit should Shreyas Iyer, the captain, deserve? A lot. The India batter had a difficult period before the IPL, losing his central contract and battling an injury. However, he never let that affect his leadership on the field. He stepped up with the bat in crunch situations and looked calm and composed. Should Shreyas be a future candidate for India captaincy?
In the latest episode of the Sledging Room Podcast, Akshay Ramesh, Saurabh Kumar, and Kingshuk Kusari reflect on KKR's run. We have also picked our IPL 2024 Team of the Tournament.
Tune in!
Produced and Mixed by Sachin Dwivedi