KKR star reveals tale of personal sacrifice to play in IPL 2024 Playoffs

Kolkata Knight Riders have stormed into IPL 2024 final after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in the first Quailifier at Ahmedabad. After choosing to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad  had the worst possible start when they lost 4 wickets for just 39 runs. SRH could only score 159 runs on a relatively flat batting surface. Fast bowler Mitchell Starc proved his big-match worth with 3 wickets in the powerplay, which demolished SRH's top order.

Chasing 160 to win, Knight Riders got off to a rollicking start from Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. After both Gurbaz and Narine were dismissed, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer took the attack to the opposition with some clean hitting. Both smashed fours and sixes for fun and finished off the game in just 13.4 overs.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz played IPL 2024 playoffs despite his mother's illness

KKR's wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a crucial 23 off 14 balls to give his team a fiery start at the top. Gurbaz scored runs freely off the experienced SRH fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pat Cummins. He hit 2 fours and 2 sixes during his knock. However, Gurbaz was dismissed by T Natarajan when he holed out to cover while trying to carve the ball on the up.

After the match, Gurbaz revealed in the press conference that he came back from Afghanistan to play in the playoffs despite his mother recovering in the hospital

"My mother is still recovering in the hospital, I speak to her every day. But I knew my KKR family needed me here once Phil Salt left. So I came back from Afghanistan, and I'm happy to be here. My mother is happy for me too," Gurbaz said.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been a part of KKR's squad since 2023. He played 11 matches for the franchise last year, scoring 227 runs with a best score of 81. However, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine formed a successful opening combination at the top this year which meant that Gurbaz had to wait for his chance.\

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Gurbaz went to Afghanistan midway through IPL 2024 to be with his ailing mother. However, knowing that Phil Salt will leave the IPL for his national commitments, Gurbaz came back to be with his team. He was a part of KKR's final league game as well, which was washed out due to rain.

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