Self-destructive batsmen again frustrated Sunrisers Hyderabad and handed Kolkata Knight Riders a five-run win in the IPL here on Thursday. Nitish Rana– The leading team in the tournament is alive. Rana and Rinku Singh A useful 61-run partnership to help KKR post 171 for nine and then their bowlers, especially Shardul Thakur (2/23) and Vaibhav Arora (2/32), the two-time IPL champions restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 166 for eight in 20 overs. Varun Chakraborty Bowled his 20th over to seal a welcome win for his team. KKR secured their fourth win of the season and now have eight points, while SRH, who are stuck on six points, have suffered a major blow to their chances of making it to the playoffs.
The win was a tough fight for KKR considering that the South African duo of SRH were captains aiden markram (41 off 40 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (36 off 20 balls) At one point, looked to be taking the match away from their 70-run partnership.
Markram and Klaasen played brilliant innings but their dismissals in quick succession spelled doom for the home team as the latter’s batsmen could not get going.
The KKR duo of Rana and Rinku came to the crease when the team was struggling at 49 for three at the end of the powerplay.
But by the time Rana was dismissed in the 12th over, his 31-ball 42, studded with three fours and as many sixes, had taken the team to a struggling score.
While wickets kept falling with West Indies at the other end andre russell And Sunil Naren Rinku (46 off 35 balls) barely made an impact but curbed his natural instincts and played patiently to give the team a decent total to defend.
It was another forgettable start for KKR with the opener Rehmanullah Gurbaz Unable to recreate the magic of the last game against Gujarat Titans.
The 21-year-old Afghanistan opener fell to a length ball from the South African pacer marco janson He tried to flick the first ball of the second over over mid-wicket but was a bit late and the top edge flew away harry brook At mid-on.
Venkatesh Iyer Dejected five balls later, Jansen became his second victim as the tall pacer sent down short stuff which the KKR batsman inconveniently tried to hook, only for wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen to take a simple catch in the air. Tossed
india fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar Stood firm at the other end conceding just 12 runs from his first two overs as the home side suffered another poor start.
After bowling two wides and a no ball, this Uttar Pradesh cricketer got the big wicket of the England opener jason roy,
Roy’s premeditated cross-bat heave took a huge edge and took off at short third man Mayank Agarwal Easy catch.
SRH were also off to a poor start in their chase with the KKR pacer Harshit Rana The weakness of SRH opener Mayank Agarwal was once again exposed while facing the short pitched delivery. While the opener was comfortable playing his strokes on either side of the wicket, Rana tested him with a touching delivery clocking in at 140 kmph and hitting the body at middle and leg stump.
Mayank played a defensive hook while trying to get his head out of harm’s way and lofted the ball past the keeper to take a simple catch.
Mayank’s soft dismissal put the pressure back on the fragile SRH top-order and eight runs later, SRH were reduced to 37 for 2 in the fourth over Abhishek Sharma Russell lunged forward to take a catch at deep backward square off Shardul and returned to the dugout.
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