Brilliant batting by the likes of Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi and an all-round bowling performance has helped Kolkata Knight Riders notch up a ten-run 100th IPL win over SunRisers Hyderabad in Chennai.
Chasing 188 to win, SunRisers Hyderabad gt off to the worse possible start as they lost both of their openers in skipper David Warned and keeper Wriddhiman Saha inside the first three overs.
Warner got a lucky reprieve in the first over after Pat Cummins shelled his mistimed cut shot off Harbhajan Singh. He wasn’t second-time lucky though as he nicked off to Dinesh Karthik against the bowling of Prasidh Krishna.
Wriddhiman Saha had announced himself with an inside-out six off Harbhajan Singh in the first over but he couldn’t do much after that as horribly misjudged the length of the delivery bowled by Shakib Al Hasan.
Saha rocked back in an attempt to cut Shakib but could only manage to chop it on his stumps.
Jonny Bairstow announced himself with an inside-out six off Shakib before Manish Pansey hoicked the left-arm spinner for a four towards mid-on and then a six for a long-off.
After having top-edges Russell for a boundary, Bairstow laid into the Kolkata Knight Riders’ all-rounder in the 8th over as he smoked him for a pull over mid-wicket for a six and four to take SunRisers Hyderabad to 2/60 after 8.
Bairstow (55 off 40 balls) looked in imperious touch. The right-hander welcomed Pat Cummins in the attack with a disdainful four over his head as the duo racked up a 50-run-stand for the 3rd wicket. The English swashbuckler continued to chip away by getting boundaries consistently. He brought up his half-century with a flat-six over midwicket off Varun Chakravarthy in the 12th over.
He was eventually dismissed by Pat Cummins in the next over after he picked out Nitish Rana while trying to cut the fast bowler towards the point region. With Bairstow gone, the onus was now on Manish Pandey to keep up with the asking rate. Pandey smashed a six off Shakib in the next over but despite that shot, just 17 runs came off the two overs after Bairstow’s dismissal.
The equation eventually boiled down to 69 off the last 30 balls. SRH promoted Mohammad Nabi in the batting order in a bid to get some quick runs and although he stroked a four and a six during his 11-ball stay, he died for the cause after he mistimed an attempted hoike on a slower delivery by Krishna to give an easy catch to Eoin Morgan at short-cover.
Pandey brought up his 50 in 37 balls but with 54 required off just 22 deliveries, SunRisers Hyderabad needed something sensational to overhaul Kolkata Knight Riders’ total. Vijay Shankar was sent ahead of the likes of Abdul Samad and the move did not work as the all-rounder managed a 7-ball 11 before he holed out against Andre Russell, leaving the final equation to 38 off 12 deliveries.
Samad smoked Pat Cummins for a monstrous six on the first ball of the 19th over and then backed it up with another one- this time over long-on. The equation eventually boiled down to 22 off the last six balls. However, Andre Russell held his nerve in the last over and ensured that he sealed a win for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi’s whirlwind knocks propelled Kolkata Knight Riders to 6/187 against SunRisers Hyderabad
Batting first, the duo of Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana took apart the SRH seam bowlers in Sandeep Sharma and T Natarajan.
While Nitish Rana took the liking to Sandeep Sharma as he smashed the swing bowler for five boundaries across two overs, Shubman Gill, on the other hand, played some sumptuous strokes, none better than the lofted on-drive that he hit off T Natarajan for a six.
KKR raced their way to 0/50 after six overs before Rashid Khan struck gold in just his first over.
Khan gave the wrong un a bit of air and proceeded to deceive Shubman Gill with his flight and dip.
Gill, who was already on one knee for the attempted slog-sweep, was left to rue his decision to do the same as he heard the death rattle of the stumps.
However, Nitish Rana continued to blaze away at the other end. After three quiet overs between 6-9, Rana broke the shackles by smashing Vijay Shankar for a four and six to bring up 50 in just 37 balls.
Rana smashed a couple of sixes in the next two overs to bring up Kolkata Knight Riders’ 100 in just 11.3 overs.
Rahul Tripathi came out with positive intent and breezed his way to a 21-ball 34 with the help of four fours and one six as the duo racked up 73 runs in just seven overs to take the Knight Riders to 1/126 after 14.
With the duo going at great guns, David Warner turned to his trump card in Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 15th over but Nitish Rana welcomed him with a four past point and then Tripathi deposited him into the midwicket stands for a six.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, Tripathi then cheekily dabbed Bhuvi past third man for consecutive boundaries to bring up his half-century.
Tripathi’s (53 off 29 balls) onslaught finally came to an end after he skied an attempted hoike across the line off T Natarajan, only to see Wriddhiman Saha complete a juggling catch.
Tripathi’s wicket caused a mini-collapse as Rashid Khan knocked over Andre Russell once again while Mohammad Nabi claimed Nitish Rana (80 off 59 balls) and Eoin Morgan on successive deliveries.
But Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten cameo of 9-ball 22 ensured that Kolkata Knight Riders eventually posted 6/187 in 20.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Well done @KKRiders on winning this game. With Russel bowling they have 6 quality options. But why was samad sent so late ?? #KKRvSRH
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 11, 2021
Most wins in #IPL
(incl. Super-Over wins)120 Mumbai Indians (204 matches)
106 Chennai Super Kings (180 matches)
100* Kolkata Knight Riders (193 matches)#KKRvSRH #SRHvKKR— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) April 11, 2021
What a great talent this boy @ABDULSAMAD___1 @SunRisers ! Great striking . #IPL2021 #SRHvsKKR
— Azhar Mahmood (@AzharMahmood11) April 11, 2021
Sixes hit by Abdul Samad in IPL
3 off Pat Cummins
2 off Jasprit Bumrah
2 off Anrich Nortje
1 off Kagiso Rabada#SRHvKKR #SRH— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) April 11, 2021
Samad's got a clear head. If he gets it in the zone, he will smoke you irrespective of your reputation. Had the privilege of chatting with him after his Ranji exploits last year. And, it was enthralling for me to see the clarity in his thoughtprocess.
— Yash ?? (@im_yash2307) April 11, 2021
Manish Pandey always looks good to bat out 21 overs.#KKRvsSRH
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) April 11, 2021
Pat Cummins has tried to keep it simple in this game. Shorter length. Hit the deck. Inward angle.
In the ipl 2020, he seemed to be putting too much pressure on himself.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) April 11, 2021
55 runs
36 balls
5 fours
3 sixesJonny Bairstow is on fire for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL ?#IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/EtowVtmk1S
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 11, 2021
Since the start of 2019, Jonny Bairstow's average batting impact in the IPL is +4.4.
In that same time frame, only three batsmen to have played 20+ innings, have a better average batting impact:
1. Andre Russell +5.4
2. David Warner +5.4
3. Jos Buttler +5.1#IPL2021 #KKRvSRH— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 11, 2021
JONNNYYYYY BAIR-SHOW ??
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 11, 2021
Superb job by @KKRiders batsman! Solid knocks by #Nitishrana and #Tripathi and brilliant finish from @DineshKarthik to get them a above par total! Looks like @SunRisers missed a few tricks in the bowling department! #IPL2021 #SRHvsKKR
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) April 11, 2021
1 1 4⃣ 1 6⃣ 4⃣ 2 2 1
A splendid cameo from Dinesh Karthik ?
22* off 9 balls ?#SRHvKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/aLRCaj77gc
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) April 11, 2021
More than the batting number, it’s when you come into bat, that’s crucial. KKR got that spot on tonight! Russell came in with 4 overs to go. And DK, always at his best & dangerous with a handful of balls left. #KKRvSRH
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 11, 2021
Again @rashidkhan_19 shows that why he is such a great bowler. Big wicket of Russell. #SRHvKKR
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) April 11, 2021
Top innings from Nitish Rana. As the innings stumbles, the value will become more apparent. The problem with bottom loading a team is that the big hitters don't always get the time to play themselves in.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 11, 2021
Eoin Morgan v Mohammed Nabi in all T20’s:
31 balls
31 runs
4 dismissalsAvg: 7.75 – Strike Rate: 100
Balls per wicket: 7.7#IPL2021 #KKRvSRH— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 11, 2021
Not sure how many of us expected this but KKR have been phenomenal in their batting approach today #KKRvsSRH
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) April 11, 2021
Tripathi has done everything asked of him and more. And as good as anyone else in that slot! Should get 200 now, nothing there for the bowler.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 11, 2021
Looks like KKR have adopted same formula as England under Morgan. Keep attacking no matter what! #KKRvsSRH
— Kartik (@elitecynic) April 11, 2021
Yooo well played @NitishRana_27 ?? I knew you was gonna light it up this year? #ipl2021
— Yannick Bolasie (@YannickBolasie) April 11, 2021
Nitish Rana is so soothing to watch. Morgan plays another masterstroke by making him open the batting for KKR. ⚡
— Soumyashree Biswal (@FervidCrickster) April 11, 2021
Players with an IPL fifty-plus score at all top-5 batting positions (No.1 to No.5):-
Rohit Sharma
Shane Watson
NITISH RANA#SRHvKKR— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) April 11, 2021
#KKR has picked the bowlers to attack very smartly.
27/1 in five overs from Rashid & Bhuvi. (RR 5.40)
99/0 in nine overs from the rest. (RR 11.00)What a platform set for Russell, Morgan and DK to explode. #SRHvKKR
— Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) April 11, 2021
Lengths could have been better from #SRH but not taking anything away from this refreshing approach of #kkr . #KKRHaiTaiyaar #KKRvsSRH #KKRvSRH
— RK (@RK_sports) April 11, 2021
Correction. Bhuvi too. How these two fare in the remaining overs will determine whether KKR get past 200 https://t.co/eCYawdxSJg
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 11, 2021
Nitish Rana 57* (40)
Fine leg has been a hugely productive area for Rana today.#IPL2021 #KKRvSRH pic.twitter.com/gF84LUuHYL
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 11, 2021
Nitish Rana last six innings in IPL:
0
81
0
87
0
50* — TodayCool, calm, composed .. 37 balls | 8 fours | 1 six #IPL2021 #SRHvKKR pic.twitter.com/wWUlGhTcI9
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 11, 2021
WICKKEEETTTTTT!!! ??
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 11, 2021
Powerplay ✅
1⃣ — 4 0 0 0 0 0
2⃣ — 0 1 4 0 4 0
3⃣ — 4 1 0 0 1 0
4⃣ — 4 4 4 1 0 1
5⃣ — 6 1 0 0 4 1
6⃣ — 0 4 0 1 0 0Nitish Rana: 36(25) | Shubhman Gill: 14(11)#KKR : 50/0 and have the perfect platform set to explode .. https://t.co/bb0pSUUa7c #IPL2021 #SRHvKKR
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 11, 2021
Rana looks million dollars when he is in full flow.
— Yash ?? (@im_yash2307) April 11, 2021
SRH should have traded Kane Williamson to CSK in return of Kedar Jadhav. ? #IPL
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) April 11, 2021
Highest timing rating in IPL history (min. 500 balls faced):
1. S Gill: 157
2. R Pant: 153
3. J Buttler: 150
4. K Williamson: 149#IPL2021 #KKRvsSRH— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) April 11, 2021
Completely agree with this #KKR batting order. Rana to open with Gill. Hopefully Shakib at 3 and Tripathi as a floater
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 11, 2021
Sunil Narine's T20 bowling average by year pic.twitter.com/cRi5yFOCTe
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) April 11, 2021