In the IPL 2024 final, Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victorious against Sunrisers Hyderabad to claim the championship title. Kolkata had secured a spot in the finals earlier by defeating Sunrisers in Qualifier-1. Meanwhile, Sunrisers advanced to the title match by triumphing over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier-2. This final showdown marked the third encounter between these two teams in the season, with Kolkata emerging victorious in all three matches.
Notably, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins from Australia, the two costliest players in IPL history, successfully led their respective teams to the finals. Kolkata's decision to acquire both players proved to be beneficial, although Starc outperformed Cummins throughout the IPL 2024 playoffs and final. Starc excelled by taking two crucial wickets for just 14 runs in the final, including dismissals of Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi, while Cummins managed to claim one wicket, conceding 18 runs in two overs and scoring 24 runs.
Starc, acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore, emerged as the most expensive player in the auction, finishing 15th among the highest wicket-takers this season with 17 wickets in 14 matches at a strike rate of 14.76 and an economy rate of 10.61. On the other hand, Pat Cummins, bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50 crore, secured 18 wickets in 16 matches this season, ranking ninth among the highest wicket-takers with a strike rate of 20.33 and an economy rate of 9.27.
Noteworthy is Cummins' dual performance in bowling and batting, along with his commendable captaincy role. Cummins' captaincy skills also drew comparisons to Shane Warne's record for most wickets in an IPL season, with Warne taking 19 wickets while leading Rajasthan in 2008.