RECAP
Follow UsSalt, Ramandeep revive KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders were reeling at 51/4 when they found new heroes. Phil Salt and Ramandeep Singh, two KKR debutants and with little experience in IPL before, added 54 off 29 balls. Salt scored 54 off 40 balls while Ramandeep contributed 35 from 17 deliveries. It was during their partnership that Sunrisers Hyderabad appeared to be in pressure for the first time.
Russell demolishes Bhuvneshwar again
Andre Russell vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar in IPL: 37 balls, 97 runs, 1 wicket, 8 sixes, 262.2 strike rate
The match-up was crucial in the outcome of the game. KKR made 85 runs in the last five overs today out of which, Russell scored 62 in 20 balls. He scored 34 runs against Bhuvi alone in a matter of nine deliveries.
In Bhuvi’s third over, 17th of the innings, Russell scored 11 in three balls. For the 19th over, the SRH skipper, Pat Cummins had the option to bowl Marco Jansen. However, he stuck with Bhuvi and this time, Russell looted 23 runs in six balls with two fours and two sixes.
Sunil Narine, the evergreen master of spin bowling
The mystery spinner was the underrated hero of KKR’s victory. He came into the attack as soon as the powerplay ended and bowled four overs on the trot. SRH were flying at that point, having scored 65/1 in the powerplay. At that point, the asking rate was 10.3. Sunil Narine conceded at less than 5 runs per over.
Narine’s bowling figures read 1/19 in four overs, without a single boundary against his name. This was the 13th instance of Narine not conceding a boundary in his spell in the IPL (in games where he's bowled his full quota of 4 overs). He showed great control on the length - on the shorter side of the good length.
Klaasen to the party again
Eight batters have scored over 500 runs in the death overs in T20s since 2023. Heinrich Klaasen’s strike rate of 216.1 is the highest. SRH scored 76 in the death overs today and 45 of them came from Klaasen’s bat in 17 balls.
When he arrived to bat, SRH were losing the plot with the asking rate mounting to 12.6. The 32-year old took the matter into his own hands and by the time the last over began, SRH were only 13 runs away. He then smacked the first ball for a six. However, from there on, Harshit Rana scripted KKR’s comeback.
Harshit Rana, the hero
The final over began with SRH only 13 away, having scored 26 in the previous over of Mitchell Starc. Klaasen sent the first ball flying for a six that moved the Criclytics prediction meter 78% in favor of SRH.
Rana then dipped his pace. Shahbaz Ahmed made the mistake of going for the glory shot and losing his wicket. It opened the door for KKR and Rana, despite landing it in the slot, dismissed Klaasen and beat Cummins with the lack of pace to snatch a 4-run win for his team from the jaws of a defeat.
