IPL 2024 | 'Took his captaincy to another level': Irfan Pathan hails Shreyas Iyer following victory over SRH

Kolkata Knight Riders` captain Shreyas Iyer plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 first qualifier cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Pic/AFP

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer and said that he took his captaincy to another level in the IPL 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

The Kolkata-based franchise sealed an eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Qualifier 1 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday. In the game, Shreyas played an unbeaten knock of 58-run knock from 24 balls at a strike rate of 241.67. He hammered 5 fours and 4 sixes against SRH bowlers.

Irfan took to his official X account and said the KKR skipper has been outstanding throughout the 17th season of the IPL.

"Shreyas Iyer has been outstanding with his changes throughout the season. But today he took his captaincy to another level," Irfan wrote on X.

Recapping the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad elected to bat first. After being reduced to 39/4 following an incredible powerplay spell by Mitchell Starc, a 62-run stand between Rahul Tripathi (55 in 35 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Heinrich Klaasen (32 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) helped SRH cross the 100-run mark. But wickets kept falling for Sunrisers as bowlers were able to maintain pressure on KKR. A late cameo from skipper Mitchell Starc (30 in 24 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took SRH to a respectable 159 in 19.3 overs.

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Starc was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, with a spell of 3/34 in four overs, once again making an impact during the big stages. Varun Chakravarthy also picked up 2/26 in four overs. Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Vaibhav Arora got a wicket each.

In the run-chase of 160 runs, a 44-run partnership between openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (23 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (21 in 16 balls, with four boundaries) provided a fine platform to KKR. Attacking half-centuries from skipper Shreyas Iyer (58' in 24 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Venkatesh Iyer (51' in 28 balls, with five fours and four sixes) made a mockery of SRH's bowling and run-chase, winning the game by eight wickets with 38 balls to go.

With this win, KKR has earned a direct spot in the final, while SRH has one more shot at the title clash and will play in IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 against the winner of the eliminator match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) taking place on Wednesday.

(With agency inputs)