The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end last Sunday with the final between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
It was a one-sided affair in the title decider as KKR thrashed SRH by eight wickets to clinch the title for the third time. The Shreyas Iyer-led team completely dominated the competition and completely outclassed SRH to make KKR the third team after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings to win the title three times.
SRH captain Pat Cummins’ decision to bat first completely backfired as KKR defeated the Hyderabad-based team by just 113 runs. Barring Cummins (24), no other SRH batsman could score more than 20 runs. At one point, SRH were reeling at 77 for 7 before Cummins’ cameo helped them post a total of over 100. In response, KKR chased down the total in 11 overs thanks to Venkatesh Iyer’s unbeaten 52-run knock with only 26 balls.
Aakash Chopra reveals his IPL 2024 Team of the Tournament:
With IPL 2024 done and dusted, former India opener Aakash Chopra has revealed his Team of the Tournament. The former cricketer-turned-commentator produced a number of surprises in his team, although he named a star-studded XI.
He started by picking Sunil Narine and Virat Kohli as openers while snubbing players like Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Kohli finished IPL 2024 as the leading run-scorer, scoring 741 runs with the help of a century and five half-centuries. On the other hand, Narine put up an explosive display as an opener for KKR, scoring 488 runs with the help of a century and three fifties.
“There is no doubt that one person is in this team, that is Sunil Narine. In batting, he scored runs, which included a century. Consistency’s name became Sunil Narine in the first half of the tournament and he too has launched with force. I think Sunil Narine will be in every team,” he said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“His partner will be Indian Virat Kohli. Firstly, he is the Orange Cap winner and secondly, how well he has played. You can check the pace of the strokes, the runs, the century, the quality, the intent, passion or aggression – it was Kohli’s Virat season this year,” he added.
For the number three and four spots, Chopra chose Rajasthan Royals duo Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag. Parag finished the season as his team’s leading run-scorer, scoring 573 runs, including 4 fifties. On the other hand, Samson scored 531 runs with the help of five fifties.
“I have given the number 3 spot to Sanju Samson. He was batting at number 3 and scored a lot of runs. One of his most consistent seasons, which is talked about and praised. Sanju Samson is also the wicketkeeper of my team. They also gave us winning performances,” he said.
“At number 4, I have given a place to his teammate Riyan Parag. The name Suryakumar Yadav also came to mind, but I am sticking with Riyan. He has put in winning performances and played extremely well as an Indian without limits. It was his great season,” Chopra added.
Speaking further, Aakash Chopra picked Shivam Dube at number five ahead of Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Reddy. For the number six spot he opted for Nicholas Pooran, ahead of Heinrich Klaasen. For the all-rounder position, Chopra opted for Andre Russell.
“I will keep Shivam Dube at number 5. There were discussions whether he should be kept, whether Venkatesh Iyer or Nitish Reddy’s name can appear here. I am going with Shivam Dube because he has batted at a different level. So far he was not selected for India, was destroying the opposition,” he explained.
“After that, I have Nicholas Pooran. It could have been Pooran or Heinrich Klaasen, but I have leaned towards Pooran because, first of all, I have a left-hander. His batting has been incredible, the same goes for Heinrich Klaasen too, but I I’m still going with Nicholas Pooran.
Furthermore, he chose Pat Cummins as the captain of the team ahead of Shreyas Iyer and said, “Now comes the captain of the tournament. Although Shreyas Iyer lifted the trophy confidently and his captaincy was also very good, I am going with Pat Cummins.
“I really liked Pat Cummins’ captaincy. I’ll put my hand up and say I wasn’t 100% confident, but he did very well. Pat Cummins is the captain of my team,” he added.
Chopra concluded by picking Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy as the other bowlers in his star-studded team.
Aakash Chopra’s Team of the Tournament for IPL 2024:
Sunil Narine, Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.