Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have become the first team to qualify for the playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The two-time champions secured a top-2 finish in the league stage after their penultimate group match against Gujarat Titans was washed out due to heavy rain at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.
The washout ended Gujarat Titans’ hopes of reaching the playoffs, while it assured KKR of a top-2 finish irrespective of the result of their final match against Rajasthan Royals.
KKR batter Nitish Rana, who recently returned from a finger injury, had a light-hearted moment with commentator Harsha Bhogle during the rain-affected match. Bhogle asked Rana about his finger injury, to which Rana jokingly replied, “I can’t show you the finger because it’s the middle finger.”
Rana made his comeback to the KKR side in their last match against Mumbai Indians on Saturday and played a decent cameo of 33 runs off 23 balls. His return to the explosive KKR batting lineup, which recently bid farewell to Phil Salt, will bolster their run-scoring capabilities.
KKR’s top-2 finish marks their first such achievement in a decade. The Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise has a remarkable record of winning the IPL title when they have finished in the top two. KKR won their first title in 2012 and followed it up with another victory in 2014.
The Knight Riders will now be aiming to maintain their form and secure a place in the final of IPL 2024.
