Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders pummelled Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the qualifier to waltz into the final of the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Mitchell Starc produced a three-wicket burst to rattle Hyderabad, who managed a below-par 159 before they were all out with three balls left in their innings.
Kolkata romped home with 6.2 overs to spare after unbeaten half-centuries by Venkatesh Iyer (51) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (58).
Hyderabad will get another chance to make Sunday's final when they clash with the winners of Wednesday's eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Australian Starc entered the league as its most expensive player following his $2.98 million deal with Kolkata, but he struggled for wickets in the first half of the tournament.
The left-arm seamer was bang on the money on Tuesday though as he removed compatriot Travis Head for a duck and sent back Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed in successive deliveries to rock Hyderabad.
Rahul Tripathi (55), Heinrich Klaasen (32) and skipper Pat Cummins (30) took Hyderabad past the 150-mark but it was not enough to test Kolkata's formidable batting line-up.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine gave Kolkata a flying start before Venkatesh and Shreyas plundered 97 runs off 44 balls to seal an easy victory.
"Credit to the bowlers. It was a really nice wicket to bat on. To get them all out for 160-odd is something we could not imagine," Venkatesh said.
"So credit to the bowlers for giving us the confidence to just go out there and complete the formalities.
“The spirits were really high and the boys were motivated to go out there and put on a show.
“We have the opportunity to play in an IPL final, which is dreamy for us. It’s always special and I think we now have a realistic chance of lifting that trophy and I’m really, really looking forward to it.”
Hyderabad captain Cummins was confident the 2016 champions could still make the final in Chennai.
"We'll try to put this day behind us quickly. The good thing is we have another crack at it," he said.
“We were just a bit off the pace. I think you have those days in T20 cricket. Even when you’re a really good side you have days where it doesn’t quite work. We were a little short of where we wanted to be with the bat and then couldn’t get it done with the ball.
“Going to Chennai is going to be a bit of a different feel to here so you start again – we’ve got a good body of work this season to look back on so we’ll erase this one and move on.”
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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