IPL 2018: Qualifier 2 - Hyderabad Stun Kolkata by 13 Runs at Eden Gardens; Enter IPL Final

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) banked on Rashid Khan’s brilliance with both bat and ball to beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the virtual semi-final clash by 13 runs at the Eden Gardens to book the second spot in the final against Chennai Super Kings.

However, things were different at the start of the game with Hyderabad coming back from four loss. Moreover, they made three changes to their playing XI going into this game, as Kolkata made only a solitary change.

Hyderabad got off to a plodding start with Shivam Mavi reaping early result from the wicket which was fast from the last night. Kolkata seamers made the life of Wriddhiman Saha and Shikhar Dhawan difficult, as they struggled to find boundaries.

The visitors crossed the 50-run mark in the sixth over with Dhawan finally starting to open up.

However, Kuldeep Yadav double strike in his first over halted SRH run flow. He removed two big guns in the form of Dhawan (34) and Kane Williamson (3) in the first and fifth ball of the over.

Kuldeep trapped Dhawan in front while he was shaping for a sweep of full delivery. Moreover, the wrist-spinner deceived SRH skipper with a perfect wrong-un, as he edged it behind to Karthik. It certainly lifted KKR on top and raised the hopes of KKR fans who was ecstatic at the stands.

Hyderabad received another when Karthik stumped Saha (35) off Piyush Chawla, as they were striving at 84 for three at the halfway mark.

Since then, Shakib Al Hasan (24) and Deepak Hooda (19) tried to steady the ship. However, it was wickets at wrong times hurt Hyderabad badly. Both the batsmen will curse themselves for not carrying on till the end of the innings.

When 150 runs were looking an impossible target for SRH, Rashid Khan late blows ensured a challenging total on the cards. He hammered 34 off just ten balls including four sixes to give the bowlers something to bowl at.

The home side, in reply, got off to the perfect start they had hoped for. Sunil Narine (26 off 13) played a blinder to set the tone for the batsmen to come. Chris Lynn who showed some form in the last few games continued to bat responsibly, as Nitish Rana took the attack to the opposition.

Kolkata notched up 67 runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of the powerplays and was well in line for the chase. The seam bowlers found it extremely tough to find inroads in the form Kolkata batting.

However, the Sunrisers got the much-needed breakthrough, as Rana (22) against the run of play.

Meanwhile, some brilliant display of bowling from Hyderabad spinners in the middle-over proved why they are touted, as the best bowling unit.

Rashid Khan was absolutely brilliant, as he bagged three crucial wickets to finish for three for 19 in his four.

With 57 runs needed from the last five overs, Hyderabad was on the driver’s seat. Although Shubman Gill (30) tried his best to steer the game, but two wickets from consecutive deliveries off Carlos Brathwaite contained KKR within 161 runs.

As a result, Hyderabad will face Chennai Super Kings on Sunday’s final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Brief Score: SRH 174/7 (Rashid 34*, Kuldeep 2/29)  beat KKR 161/9  (Lynn 48, Rashid 3/19) by 13 runs.