IPL 2021, KKR vs SRH: Who won yesterday’s match?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) came up with a commanding performance to thump Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets in match number 49 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Dubai on Sunday.

Bowling first after losing the toss, KKR restricted SRH to 115 for 8, with all the bowlers contributing in impressive fashion. Shubman Gill then converted his form into runs, scoring a well-compiled 57 off 51 as KKR eased home in the chase.

KKR did not get off to a confident start in their pursuit of 116. SRH debutant Umran Malik bowled with impressive pace, regularly clocking 140. However, it was Jason Holder who got the breakthrough.

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Venkatesh Iyer (8 off 14) looked out of sorts for the first time and miscued one that had extra bounce straight up in the air. SRH skipper Kane Williamson took a tumbling catch. The other in-form KKR batter, Rahul Tripathi (7), also fell cheaply. He mistimed a pull off Rashid Khan straight to midwicket.

At the other end, though, Gill looked in ominous touch. He began by driving Holder down the ground before crashing newcomer Malik for a four through point. In the last over of the powerplay bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he pierced the gap between the backward point and short third by opening the face of the bat.

Gill it was who raised KKR’s fifty, going down the track to Rashid and flicking him over midwicket. The opener kept attacking SRH bowlers, taking two fours each in consecutive overs from Holder and Malik. The KKR batter reached his fifty by clobbering a long hop from Malik to deep midwicket for a boundary.

Gill’s bright innings ended on 57 as he flicked a full delivery from Siddarth Kaul to Holder at long-on. Nitish Rana (25 off 33) then fell to Holder, slogging one straight up to be caught by the keeper. Dinesh Karthik (18 not out off 12), however, finished off the game for KKR with a few crunchy boundaries.

With 12 points from 13 games and an impressive net run-rate of +0.294, they look better-placed than other sides to qualify for the playoffs and clinch the fourth spot.

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Brilliant KKR restrict SRH to 115 for 8

KKR players celebrate a wicket. Pic: IPLT20.COM

KKR bowlers came up with an excellent bowling performance to restrict SRH to 115 for 8. Asked to bowl after losing the toss, KKR’s bowlers enjoyed themselves against a shaky batting line-up as Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy helped themselves to two wickets each.

Shakib Al Hasan also made an impact in his first game of the UAE leg, finishing with figures of 1 for 20. He also came up with a superb piece of fielding to run out SRH skipper Williamson, who was looking threatening on 26. Priyam Garg and Abdul Samad were the only other SRH batters to cross 20.

SRH got off to a horror start as Wriddhiman Saha (0) was trapped lbw by Southee with one that came back in sharply. The batter decided against a review but replays showed the ball would have gone over the stumps.

After hitting a couple of fours, Jason Roy (10) fell to Mavi, hitting the bowler straight to mid-on. Till he was out there, Williamson looked in excellent touch. In fact, he took four boundaries off Mavi in the last over of the powerplay - a textbook cover drive being the most impressive of the lot.

A massive error of judgment, however, cost the SRH skipper his wicket. Williamson dabbed Shakib towards the leg side and took off for a quick single. The ball was too close to the bowler, though, who threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end and caught Williamson short.

Next, Shakib had Abhishek Sharma (6) stumped with a ball that skidded through and left the charging batter stranded. Garg (21) hung around for a while before slogging Chakravarthy to deep midwicket. The KKR leg-spinner also got the big scalp of Jason Holder (2) as the big-hitting all-rounder mistimed one and was caught at long-on.

Samad (25) spoiled Chakravarthy’s figures to an extent by hoicking him consecutive sixes. However, he could not find the same elevation against Southee and was caught in the deep. Rashid Khan (8) attempted a couple of helicopter shots. One found the boundary while the other landed in the hands of long-on as Mavi’s slower ball did the trick.

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IPL 2021, KKR vs SRH: Who was the Man of the Match?

Most of KKR’s bowlers chipped in on the day. Southee got the early wicket of Saha and dismissed Samad later in the day. Varun was among the wickets again. He got the massive scalp of Holder. Mavi had a big one as well, sending back Roy.

Also, Sunil Narine conceded only 12 in his four overs while Shakib ran out Williamson apart from getting the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. When KKR batted, Gill led the chase with an attractive fifty.

For SRH, Holder claimed 2 for 32 while Rashid was economical again, with figures of 1 for 23.

Gill was named man of the match for his fluent half-century.