KKR started their 2024 season in their home at the majestic Eden Gardens against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in what promised to be a mouth-watering contest. A fresh & rejuvenated KKR squad with a lot of firepower added with their Shreyas Iyer coming back alongside the legendary Mitchell Starc being added to the squad. With the backing of the returning legend Gautam Gambhir and the strong squad, the Knight Riders stepped out to take the IPL by storm and to put a big smile of the face of all KKR fans.

After being put into bat first, KKR played an interesting move which had ‘Gautam Gambhir Touch’ written all over it. All eyes were suddenly on Sunil Narine as he opened after a long long time alongside Phil Salt who was on debut. However, the move didn’t pay off and KKR lost a few quick wickets at the start. Salt held one end well and started off in solid fashion and made a sudden impact. Despite Salt holding one end, KKR were stuttering at 51/4 at one stage, however a Ramandeep Singh Cameo settled everyone’s nerves down. An excellent KKR debut performance for Raman, as he powered to 35 in just 20 balls, pushing KKR on the right track. Meanwhile, Salt reached his fifty and continued to impress on his debut. Soon after his half century, Salt lost his wicket and then the onus was on two of KKR’s favourites - Andre Russell & Rinku Singh. Dre-Russ looked like he came in set from right from the dressing room, as the big guy unleashed his fury over the SRH bowlers. Andre smashed 7 huge sixes and spared no bowler while Rinku played beautifully and rotated the strike beautifully. A stunning display of power-hitting mixed with quality percentage cricket powered KKR to a huge total of 208. After struggling in the first half of the innings, KKR recovered in a magnificent fashion, all thanks to their Main Man - Dre-Russ.

While defending a big total, KKR looked to bowl tight overs at the start and pick wickets in the powerplay. However, SRH started off with a bang and took to the KKR bowlers. A few half chances didn’t go KKR’s way which pushed them back in the game. It was Harshit Rana who picked up the first wicket and gave KKR a chance to comeback. KKR bowlers eventually started to make in-roads and picked up a few wickets. KKR at one point looked completely in control, however a Klaasen masterclass along with a powerful cameo pulled SRH back in the game. KKR looked on the back foot with 13 to defend off the last over and Harshit who had bowled magnificently well had the onus on him to take KKR to victory. The equation even got tougher when Harshit had 7 to defend off the last 5 balls. Yet the young pacer held his own and delivered an exquisite last 5 balls to take KKR to victory. An absolute cliffhanger of a game yet the Knight Riders propelled to victory in outstanding fashion. A truly epic night at the Eden Gardens!