Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the IPL for the third time, and first in ten years, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in Chennai on Sunday, May 26. KKR’s dominant run in the 2024 IPL concluded with glory, as the Shreyas Iyer-led side brought much-needed joy to its fans after a decade-long title drought. Iyer, who previously guided the Delhi Capitals to their first final in 2020, added a football twist to the festivities by recreating Lionel Messi’s legendary FIFA World Cup celebration.

As soon as Iyer accepted the trophy from BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Jay Shah, he began gently going towards his colleagues, suggesting that they should wait for the trophy. Soon, the KKR players got the signal and moved a little further away from Iyer as the skipper approached, allowing him to cover some ground before lifting the trophy alongside Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, and Harshit Rana.

The fans immediately recognized the link because Messi is known for his slow walk with the trophy as his teammates wait with bated breath to celebrate.

Shreyas Iyer has made a remarkable comeback in just three months since being ousted from the Test team. Iyer had repeated back troubles, but he lost his central contract and then featured in the Ranji Trophy knockouts, helping Mumbai win their 42nd title before moving to the IPL and eventually winning the trophy there as well. Knight Riders last lost a game on April 26, exactly a month ago, and have since won six of eight games, with two washed out due to rain.

The Men in Purple worked together to win the championship for the third time, led by coach Chandrakant Pandit, mentor Gautam Gambhir, and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, as well as the six-pronged bowling assault.