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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir was seen celebrating with his wife and two kids after the Men in Purple clinched their third IPL title. The Knight Riders thrashed the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets at Chepauk on Sunday, May 26, to take home the trophy.
Kolkata were in the driver's seat right from the start of the game. Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora gave them a dream start after Pat Cummins asked KKR to bowl first. None of the SRH batters managed to resist the opposition bowlers and were skittled out for 113 runs - the lowest total in an IPL final.
The Knight Riders never looked in trouble during their run chase, chasing down the target in just 10.3 overs. Venkatesh Iyer was once again the star of the show for KKR, remaining unbeaten on 52 of 26 balls at a strike rate of 200.
Soon after the victory, Gautam Gambhir celebrated the win with the players before joining his family. The KKR mentor was joined by his wife and two kids at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The entire family looked ecstatic and was all smiles inside the ground.
It is worth noting that Kolkata won both their last IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 under the leadership of Gambhir.
The former Indian opener returned to the franchise as a mentor ahead of IPL 2024 after a two-year stint with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The return was memorable as they capped off their campaign with a victory in the final.
"Would be happy if we are on that podium lifting the trophy" - Nitish Rana reveals Gautam Gambhir's first message after being appointed as KKR mentor
Senior KKR batter Nitish Rana revealed an interesting anecdote from the time when Gambhir was appointed as Kolkata's mentor. Rana said that he congratulated the former cricketer soon after learning about the news but Gambhir said that he would be happy after winning the trophy.
Speaking to the host broadcaster after the final, Rana said:
"When GG bhai was appointed as the mentor I had messaged him and said I am very happy he's coming back to KKR, but he said that he would be happy if we are on that podium lifting the trophy. Today is that day and I will never forget that message."
Do you think Gautam Gambhir should be appointed as India's head coach? Let us know in the comments.
