Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 54 runs in Match 61 of IPL 2022.
Kolkata Knight Riders: 177/6 in 20 overs (Andre Russell 49 not out, Sam Billings 34; Umran Malik 3/33)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 123/8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 43, Aiden Markram 32; Andre Russell 3/22)
An all-round show by Andre Russell has helped Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 54 runs in Match 61 of IPL 2022 on Saturday night.
The victory ensures that KKR stay in contention for the play-offs with 12 points from 13 matches. Hyderabad, who were handed their fifth straight loss this season, are also not out of the play-offs race yet as they have two more matches left to play this season.
Updated IPL 2022 Points Table, Orange Cap and Purple Cap Holder after KKR beat SRH.
Fighting knocks by Andre Russell (49 not out off 28) and Sam Billings (34 off 29) guided Kolkata Knight Riders to 177/6 in 20 overs. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, KKR were struggling for 94/5 after 11.3 overs but Russell and Billings stitched a partnership of 63 runs for the sixth wicket and ensured their team had a solid total on the board.
Apart from the two, Ajinkya Rahane (28 off 24) and Nitish Rana (26 off 16) also made vital contributions with the bat for KKR. On the other hand, Umran Malik (3/33) was the most successful bowler for SRH while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/27), Marco Jansen (1/30) and T. Natarajan also chipped in with one wicket each.
In reply, Abhishek Sharma (43 off 28) and Aiden Markram (32 off 25) played solid knocks for SRH. However, apart from them, none of the Hyderabad batters were able to apply themselves at the crease and crumbled under the pressure.
In the end, Sunrisers Hyderabad were restricted to 123-8 in 20 overs, losing by 54 runs.
Andre Russell (3/22) was the most successful bowler for KKR while the likes of Tim Southee (2/23), Umesh Yadav (1/19), Varun Chakravarthy (1/25), Sunil Narine (1/34) also picked crucial wickets at regular intervals.
IPL 2022: Sunrisers Hyderabad chased in the match vs KKR.
(Photo: BCCI)
KKR Elected to Bat First
After winning the toss and opting to bat, KKR got off to a shaky start as they lost opener Venkatesh Iyer (7) in the last delivery of the second over. Marco Jansen bowled a length ball outside off and the left-hander wanted to play it towards point but he chopped the delivery back onto the stumps.
Another left-hander Nitish Rana then joined senior pro Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. Rana took some time to adjust to the conditions of the Pune before smashing T. Natarajan for 18 runs in his over. On the other hand, Rahane too struck some boundaries as KKR reached to KKR 55-1 at the end of the powerplay.
Both Rahane and Rana were going strong and it seemed that they had brought KKR back on the track with their 48-run stand before Umran Malik changed the momentum in SRH's favour.
Umran Malik of the Sunrisers Hyderabad celebrates a wicket in the match vs KKR.
(Photo: BCCI)
Bowling his first over, Malik dismissed a well-set Rana (26 off 16), who chipped the ball on the on-side and Shashank Singh covered a good distance from the fine-leg to complete the catch. Skipper Shreyas Iyer walked in to bat and struck a boundary on his first ball but Rahane got on the final delivery of the eighth over, leaving KKR to 72-3.
Washington Sundar then bowled an economical over to maintain the pressure on KKR. Malik continued his domination with the ball and in his second over he got rid of Shreyas (15), who tried to flick a ball coming on his pads but found Rahul Tripathi at mid-wicket.
Soon after, Natarajan trapped Rinku Singh in front of the wicket with a deadly yorker, putting Kolkata under tremendous pressure. But Russell and Billings led KKR's fightback. The duo took the cautious approach for the next few overs and at the same time also hit boundaries whenever they got bad deliveries, taking KKR to 119/5 after 15 overs.
With five overs to go, both Russell and Billings decided to free their arms, scoring 10, 13 and 9 respectively in the next three overs. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled an excellent 19th over, where he conceded just six runs and took the wicket of Billings. The decision to bowl Washington Sundar in the last over of the innings backfired for SRH as Russell hit the off-spinner for three sixes and helped KKR finish on 177/6.
SRH's Chase
Chasing a challenging total, SRH skipper Kane Williamson once again struggled to get going and eventually got out to Russell for 9 off 17 deliveries. Despite Abhishek Sharma's aggressive intent, KKR managed to score just 31/1 in the powerplay.
With the required rate going up, Abhishek smashed Sunil Narine for 17 runs. But, he didn't get much support from Rahul Tripathi (9), who got out to Tim Southee courtesy of a stunning catch in his followthrough. Aiden Markram, who came to bat next, resisted KKR's attack with a handy 25-ball 32. But, Varun Chakravarthy removed the solid-looking Abhishek Sharma (43 off 28 balls) to dent SRH's hopes even further.
Nicholas Pooran also couldn't do anything and fell for 2 to Narine and Markram's wicket in the 15th over ended Hyderabad's hopes. Shashank Singh got an 11 but it was not enough as SRH were restricted to 123/8 in 20 overs.
(With inputs from IANS)
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