IPL 2018: Qualifier 2, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Five Game-Changing Moments

The penultimate match of IPL 2018 was played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, to decide the second finalists of the tournament along with Chennai Super Kings.

After an enthralling 40 overs of cricket, with the balance of the game shifting from one side to the other, it was the Sunrisers defeated Kolkata by 13 runs at Eden Gardens to fix the date with former champions on Sunday.

It was Rashid Khan who was sensational in all three departments of the game, which took his side to the finals of the tournament.

Let us go through the game-changing moments of the match.

Dhawan-Saha start

Shikhar Dhawan looked a class apart during his stay at the crease, as he smacked a 27-ball 35. He was ably supported by local lad, Wriddhiman Saha, who withered the early storm from Shivam Mavi.

Saha, on his comeback, made up for his slow start with his 24-ball 34 and gave the impetus when Dhawan and Williamson got dismissed in quick succession.

KKR’s spin trap

The famous spin trio of Kolkata Knight Riders stood up for the nth time in the tournament. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, as he gave away 29 runs in his spell, picking up the vital wickets of Dhawan and Williamson.

Further, after the start provided by the left arm chinaman bowler, Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine choked the Sunrisers batsmen with their respective economical spells.

Again, a visiting team had no answer to the spin trap set by the Knight Riders at home.

The Rashid Khan show

Moreover, Sunrisers Hyderabad was tottering at one point in time with the wicket of Yusuf Pathan, which reduced the men in Orange to 138-7.

Also, SRH were looking at a score of 150 when Rashid Khan took his guard. The Afghan sensation single-handedly changed the course of the game with his ten-ball 34, which took Sunrisers to a total of 175.

Rashid, striking the ball at 340, struck four sixes and a couple of boundaries during his game-changing knock.

Just when the hosts thought they witnessed the best of Rashid Khan with the bat, he came back to haunt them with the ball.

KKR was off to a breezy start before Rashid got introduced to the attack.

Also, Rashid changed the game around with the ball in hand, picking up the key wickets of Lynn, Uthappa and Andre Russell.

Incredibly, the Afghan caused havoc in KKR dressing room, as he conceded only 19 runs in his four-over spell, at an economy of below five. His final over yielded only one run.

Additionally, on the field, he affected a run-out and held on to a couple of crucial catches in deep under pressure.

Thunderous start from Knights

SRH were shellshocked after the start provided by usual suspects of Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine and Nitish Rana. Moreover, the Knight was cruising towards the finals after notching 87 runs in just eight overs.

Also, KKR registered 67 runs within the powerplays, which is the highest in the tournament so far against the supreme bowling attack of SRH.

KKR collapse

From 87-1 in 8.3 overs to 118-6 in 14.4 overs, the Knight Riders completely lost the plot with their collapse during the middle overs.

Also, KKR scored 31 runs from 38 balls and lost five key wickets during this phase. Which was enough for the Sunrisers bowling attack to smell blood and put their foot down the throat?

In the end, it Dinesh Karthik and co. left too much to do for Piyush Chawla and Shubman Gill who played their part in reigniting hopes of the Knight Rider fans.