Kolkata Knight Riders reached their fourth final of the Indian Premier League after registering a dominating win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The two-time champions, who finished on top of the table, were up against the second-ranked SRH in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2024. The Sunrisers were restricted to a mere 159, which the Shreyas Iyer-led side chased with 38 balls to spare.

After the match, KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan congratulated all the players on the win. However, the moment that grabbed the attention was the one he shared with Orange Army batter Rahul Tripathi. The legendary actor embraced the Indian batter as he tried to console him for the defeat.

The defeat would have pinched Tripathi, slightly more than the rest of his teammates.

It was Tripathi, who held the team’s fort after they lost their four wickets - three of them to Mitchell Starc - early in the powerplay. The right-hander fought back, scoring 55 runs off 35 deliveries but his knock was cut short after he was run out following a mix-up with Abdul Samad at the pitch. The Indian batter was devastated as he was the only hope for his team at that juncture. He was found sitting on the venue’s stairs in despair.

SRK’s consoling gesture garnered the social media spotlight as the fans lauded the Indian actor. Interestingly, the duo had shared the same team space when Tripathi was a part of the KKR unit. The Indian batter is known to share a cordial bond with the KKR owner as their heartwarming moment after the first Qualifier reminisced the connection they had shared previously.

As the Orange Army succumbed to defeat, KKR advanced to the IPL final. The Kolkata-based franchise has lifted the trophy twice in three attempts. On the other hand, SRH will have one last chance to make it to the summit clash in the second qualifier as they wait for the first eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru to get underway on Wednesday to know who their opponent is going to be.

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