On Sunday, the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end as Sunrisers Hyderabad took on Kolkata Knight Riders in the tournament final in Chennai.
SRH chose to bat first but were rocked early as they lost openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head in the first two overs. They never recovered from the early blows, eventually being bowled out for 113. In reply, KKR's Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer ensured there were no hiccups as they chased down the total in just 10.3 overs.
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Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine: The two common links between KKR's three IPL titles
KKR were one of the most consistent sides in the tournament, as they lost just three of their fifteen matches en route to the title. Key to their form was West Indian all-rounder Sunil Narine who enjoyed a magnificent season with both bat and ball, scoring 488 runs and picking up 17 wickets.
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This season, KKR returned to their strategy of using Narine as a pinch-hitting opener, despite limited returns in the last couple of years. The man behind the move was Gautam Gambhir, who was persuaded to return to KKR as a mentor by owner Shah Rukh Khan.
After coaching Lucknow Super Giants to two playoff finishes, Gambhir returned to the franchise where he won two titles as captain in 2012 and 2014 and delivered immediately. Between him and Narine, KKR have had a couple of fantastic common threads running through all three of their title triumphs. In 2012, Narine led KKR's bowling attack with 24 wickets, before picking up 21 scalps in their victorious 2014 season.
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