The Kolkata Knight Riders might have played a full game 10 days ago but that didn't rust their form one bit as KKR thrashed the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in Qualifier 1 to reach their 4th IPL final.
The Knight Riders called the shots from start to finish. Pat Cummins' decision to bat first was surprising and it did backfire. SRH was bowled out for a mere 159 in Ahmedabad as Mitchell Starc rose to the big occasion and broke their back with 3 wickets.
Rahul Tripathi did score 55 while the skipper played a 30-run cameo but couldn't help SRH reach a defendable total.
The run-chase proved to be a cakewalk for KKR as Rahmanullah Gurbaz proved to be a perfect replacement for Phil Salt as the openers put together a 44-run stand.
However, it was the Iyer and Iyer show after Gurbaz and Sunil Narine got out.
Venkatesh and captain Shreyas smashed unbeaten half-centuries and took Kolkata over the finish line with 38 balls to spare.
While KKR have now won 5 games in a row, not all is lost for SRH as they will take on the winner of the Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru game in Qualifier 2 on Friday.