In his first speech to the players after taking over as the Kolkata Knight Riders mentor, Gautam Gambhir talked about being there on May 26, the date of IPL 2024 final. The KKR players lived up to the challenge two months and a week later. They advanced to the IPL final as the most dominating team of the tournament. After finishing on the top of the points table for the first time in 17 years, KKR hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad, the second-ranked team, by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 to stamp their tickets for the Chennai-bound flight.

Gambhir had talked about team bonding, the importance of representing a reputed franchise like KKR and the equal rights of all players in the setup in his speech.

“We start the season from today. Whether it is physically, mentally, or skill wise, give everything possible. It’s a very, very proud and a successful franchise,” Gambhir, the last and the only KKR captain to win the IPL, had said in the middle of March. “You guys are representing a very successful franchise. Make sure you train that way, you play that way, and you carry that attitude on the field,” he added.

“One thing I absolutely believe in is giving all the freedom to the players. That is something very important. So people who have played with me, know one thing, that everyone in this group will be treated equally. There’s no senior/junior. No domestic/international because we have got one mission and that is to win the IPL. So, everyone needs to follow that one simple path. On 26th May, we should be there, giving everything possible. And it starts from today,” the former KKR skipper had said.

KKR displayed all those qualities and much more during these two months. They won nine out of their 12 matches - two were washouts - to become the first team to qualify for playoffs and then finish on top of the points table. In the playoffs, they were at their dominating best against the high-flying SRH.

Gambhir expected a purple wave in the final at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday (May 26).

Mitchell Starc struck three early blows to set the tone for KKR. The two-time champions Kolkata bowled out Hyderabad for 159 as Starc returned figures of 3/34. Venkatesh Iyer, on 51, and skipper Shreyas Iyer, on 58, remained unbeaten in Ahmedabad as Kolkata achieved their target with 38 balls to spare.

Hyderabad will have another shot at making the final when they clash with the eliminator winner in the second qualifier on Friday in Chennai.

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