KKR bowlers hold nerve in death overs as they clinch five-run win over SRH

HYDERABAD: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers held their nerve to deliver skillful bowling spells in death overs to clinch a five-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Hyderabad on Thursday.

Now, KKR is at eighth position with four wins and six losses. They have a total of eight points. SRH is at ninth position with three wins and six losses. They have a total of six points.

In the chase of 172, Sunrisers Hyderabad were off to a solid start, but Harshit Rana disrupted the chase by dismissing Mayank Agarwal for 18 off 11 balls. SRH were at 29/1 in 2.5 overs. Abhishek Sharma was also dismissed for nine runs by Shardul Thakur, after he was caught by Andre Russell at deep backward square. SRH were at 37/2 in 3.5 overs. SRH reached the 50-run mark in 5.2 overs.

Rahul Tripathi played some aggressive shots, but his short stay at the crease ended in nine balls after he was dismissed by Russell, with help from Vaibhav Arora at fine-leg. SRH were at 53/3 in 5.3 overs. At the end of powerplay in six overs, SRH were at 53/3, with skipper Aiden Markram and Harry Brook unbeaten at zero.

Anukul Roy trapped Harry Brook lbw for a four-ball duck, continuing his disappointing run in IPL. SRH sunk to 54/4 in 6.2 overs. Skipper Markram and Heinrich Klaasen started to build a partnership, taking the side halfway through the innings without any loss of wicket. At the end of 10 overs, SRH were at 75/4, with Klaasen (11*) and Markram (10*) unbeaten. Anukul Roy was smashed for 15 runs in the 11th over, including two sixes by Klaasen.
SRH breached the 100-run mark in 11.5 overs. The South African duo brought up their fifty-run stand.

Thakur’s golden arm ended the 70-run stand between Markram-Klaasen, as Russell caught Klaasen at deep midwicket. The batter was dismissed for 36 off 20 balls, consisting of a four and three sixes. SRH were at 124/5 in 14.1 overs. At the end of 15 overs, SRH were at 134/5, with Abdul Samad (5*) and Markram (38*) unbeaten. They needed 38 runs in the final five overs.

The next two overs bowled by Varun Chakravarthy and Vaibhav Arora were cheap, giving away only three and five runs, respectively. Arora also got the wicket of skipper Markram, who was dismissed for 41 off 40 balls. Rinku Singh took a great catch. SRH were at 145/6 in 16.5 overs and needed 26 off 18 balls.

Vaibhav dismissed Marco Jansen for just 1. SRH were reduced to 152/7 in 18.2 overs. Gurbaz took a brilliant catch to dismiss Jansen. A no-ball from Vaibhav and a total of 12 runs conceded in the 19th over left SRH with nine runs in the final over to win.

After a single and a bye, Samad was caught near the boundary for 21 off 18 balls. SRH were at 165/8 in 19.3 overs, needing seven in three balls. SRH failed to complete the chase, finishing at 166/8 in 20 overs. KKR won the match by five runs. Shardul Thakur (2/23) and Vaibhav (2/32) impressed KKR with their bowling. Andre, Anukul, Varun and Harshit got a wicket each.

Earlier, Nitish Rana’s 42 and Rinku Singh’s 46 helped Kolkata Knight Riders reach a respectable total of 171/9 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. Nitish Rana scored 42 of 31 balls while Rinku Singh smashed 46 in 35 balls.

Choosing to bat first, KKR lost early wickets. In the 2nd over, Marco Jansen took two wickets, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz on a duck and KKR’s key batter Venkatesh Iyer at 7 off 4 balls. KKR were reduced to 16/2 in two overs.

Kolkata lost their third wicket in the 5th over when Kartik Tyagi got the scalp of Jason Roy (20) after he got a top edge and Mayank Agarwal took a simple catch on a third man. KKR was 35/3 in 4.4 overs. After the end of the powerplay, Kolkata were at 49/3. KKR reached to 50 runs mark in 6.1 overs, with Nitish Rana (12*) and Rinku Singh (6*) at the crease.

Nitish and Rinku Singh steered the innings as they brought a 50-run partnership off 30 balls. Nitish, in the 10th over, started to accelerate the run rate. He hit two sixes and one four on Kartik Tyagi’s deliveries, taking 17 runs in the over. KKR were 90/3 in 10 overs, with Nitish (40*) and Rinku (17*) unbeaten. Nitish Rana became the target of Aiden Markram’s bowl. He scored 42 off 31 balls. KKR were at 96/4 in 11.2 overs. Kolkata reached to 100-run mark in 11.5 overs.

Coming to the crease, Russell seemed in his natural form hitting two maximums and one four, but his batting did not last long as he got out in Markande’s bowling. He scored 24 off 15 balls. KKR was at 127/5 in 14.2 overs. All-rounder Sunil Narine was also dismissed cheaply at one run as Bhuvneshwar Kumar took his wicket in the 16th over. KKR were 130/6 in 15.3 overs.

Kolkata reached to 150 runs mark in 17.2 overs, but lost the wicket in the next ball. Natarajan got the wicket of Shardul Thakur at 8 off 6 balls. KKR sunk to 151/7 in 17.3 overs. In the last over, Kolkata lost two consecutive scalps as Natarajan dismissed Rinku Singh at 46 off 35 balls and Harshit Rana was run out for a duck. KKR posted 171/9 in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders: 171/9 (Rinku Singh 46, Nitish Rana 42, T Natarajan 2/30) won against Sunrisers Hyderabad: 166/8 (Aiden Markram 41, Heinrich Klaasen 36, Shardul Thakur 2/23). (ANI)