KKR beat SRH in the finals, and Gautam Gambhir is in talks for India’s head coach.

Summary: The Kolkata Knight Riders won their 3rd IPL title, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets, making Gautam Gambhir the top choice for India’s head coach after Rahul Dravid.

Shreyas Iyer led his team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, to their 3rd IPL victory yesterday, May 26, 2024, by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets. KKR dominated SunRisers in the most one-sided IPL final, knocking them out for 113 and chasing down the mark with 57 balls and 8 wickets to spare at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium. KKR's all-round dominance also resulted in the IPL 2024 final being the shortest title match played in the event, with 29 overs bowled.

At the toss, both teams got what they wanted. SRH wanted to bat first, as they have the record of scoring the best scores in the first inning and the worst record for chasing down the targets in the second inning. 

But Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora caused early damage with the new ball, removing both openers in a matter of seconds, before Harshit Rana dismissed Nitish Reddy and Andre Russell, putting a stop to the partnership of Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram. SRH were eventually dismissed for 113 runs in 18.3 overs, the lowest-ever score by an IPL team in the final.

With the one-sided win for KKR, their mentor, Gautam Gambhir, is now seen as the leading contender for taking over Rahul Dravid as India's head coach. Gambhir was the happiest man on Sunday night after the KKR lifted the trophy for their 3rd IPL win, breathing SRH.

He took a break from the celebrations to welcome BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who was present during the IPL final. Later, he was spotted chatting for a long time, which raised rumors that he would be appointed head coach of India.

Gautam Gambhir is now the front-runner to replace Rahul Dravid as head coach. Dravid’s contract ends after the 2024 T20 World Cup in June 2024. He has refused to reapply for the position; hence, the BCCI is looking for applicants to fill the high-profile position. The contract will run until the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup.