On Sunday, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) claimed their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title in a one-sided final held at Chennai with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Having finished top of the 10-team league stage, KKR beat Hyderabad in the first qualifier on Tuesday and were even more dominant in a final that lasted just 29 overs.
The elated KKR players paid tribute to Gautam Gambhir as their mentor. They pointed out that this transformed them into champions who outperformed SRH to win their third IPL trophy at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
As per tradition, after clinching the championship, KKR players lifted Gambhir over their heads as they celebrated.
This was Gambhir’s first coaching role since his time as captain when KKR won championships before in 2012 and 2014.
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“Allow me to share a short story about GG (Gautam Gambhir) bhaiya becoming a mentor. I was happy so I sent him long text but he replied saying ‘thank you but I would be happy if we stand at the podium with the trophy in our hands’. Today is that day and I will never forget that message,” Nitish Rana said following his team’s success.
Royal Challengers Bangalore were knocked out of the playoffs but their star player Virat Kohli won the Orange Cap for finishing as the highest run-scorer with 741 runs from 15 matches.
Punjab Kings seam bowler Harshal Patel took home Purple Cap honors for being top wicket-taker of the tournament with 24 scalps from 14 matches despite not making it into playoffs.
