Varun Chakravarthy’s 3/36 led a KKR bowling fightback to restrict SRH to 165, despite Travis Head’s 61. In response, Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s 59 and Ajinkya Rahane’s 43 guided KKR to a comfortable seven-wicket victory in Hyderabad.
A three-wicket haul from Varun Chakravarthy and a half-century from Angkrish Raghuvanshi were the highlights as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) cruised to a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Hyderabad on Sunday. KKR has risen to eight spot in the table with their third win, having also endured five losses and a no result, giving them seven points. SRH is at the fourth spot, with six wins and four losses, giving them 12 points.
SRH won the toss and opted to bat first. However, despite knocks from Travis Head (61 in 27 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) and Ishan Kishan (42 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes), the Men in Orange failed to capitalise, with Varun Chakravarthy (3/36) and Sunil Narine (2/31) getting quick wickets, causing SRH to collapse from 105/1 to 165 all out. Later, in a run-chase of 166 runs, Finn Allen (29 in 13 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and an 84-run stand with skipper Ajinkya Rahane (43 in 35 balls, with three fours and a six) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (59 in 47 balls, with five fours and two sixes) took KKR to a seven-wicket win with 10 balls left.
KKR’s Run Chase
During a run-chase of 166 runs, KKR openers’ skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen collected 22 runs in the first three overs. In the fourth over by skipper Pat Cummins, Allen smacked him for two sixes and fours each and the SRH skipper gave away 27 runs. However, Cummins got the last laugh, removing him for 13-ball 29, with three fours and two sixes. KKR was 49/1 in four overs.
KKR reached the 50-run mark in 4.1 overs.
KKR continued their aggression against SRH, targeting their best bowler of the tournament, Eshan Malinga, with Eshan Malinga smashing him for two sixes. At the end of six overs, KKR was 71/1.
Raghuvanshi and skipper Rahane took KKR to the 100-run mark in 9.2 overs. Halfway through, KKR was 105/1, with Raghuvanshi (34*) and Rahane (34*) unbeaten.
Raghuvanshi continued to take down Eshan, getting a couple of boundaries in the 12th over.
Raghuvanshi raced to his third fifty of the season in 39 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes.
The 84-run stand ended, courtesy of Sakib Hussain, who got KKR skipper Rahane for 36-ball 43, with three fours and a six. KKR was 133/2 in 14 overs.
Shivang gets Raghuvanshi for a 47-ball 59, with five boundaries and two sixes, with a catch from Eshan Malinga at long-off. KKR was 151/3 in 16.4 overs.
Rinku Singh (22* in 11 balls, with two fours and a six) and Cameron Green (3*) helped KKR to a seven-wicket win in 18.2 overs. Cummins, Shivang and Sakib took a wicket each.
SRH Innings: A Tale of Two Halves
A disciplined, all-round bowling effort from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in check, restricting them to 165. The hosts, Sunrisers Hyderabad, were cruising at 105/1 in the ninth over but lost momentum in the second half, eventually being bowled out for just 165. With the ball for KKR, Varun Chakravarthy led the charge with three wickets for 36 runs, while Sunil Narine (2/31) and Kartik Tyagi (2/30) picked up two each; Anukul Roy, Cameron Green, and Vaibhav Arora chipped in with a wicket apiece.
After opting to bat first, SRH came out with attacking intent, led by a blistering knock from Travis Head. The SRH opener dominated the powerplay, racing to a rapid half-century and propelling the team to 71/1 in the first six overs. Travis started by smashing Vaibhav for four boundaries in the first over itself. The left-hander unleashed a hat-trick of fours in the fifth over, taking SRH to the 50-run mark in 4.3 overs. But amid this assault from Head, Abhishek (15 in 10 balls) lost his wicket to Kartik Tyagi, with SRH one wicket down for 44 runs in 3.4 overs.
At the end of six overs in the powerplay, SRH looked set for something big, with Ishan having hit a four and a six against Kartik. Head reached his fifty, his second successive of the season in 22 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. His 61 off just 27 balls, featuring nine boundaries and sixes, laid a strong foundation and kept the scoring rate above 10 runs per over.
In the ninth over, Varun conceded a couple of fours against Ishan and a six by Head, bringing up the 100-run mark in 8.5 overs. The spinner ended the over with the wicket of Head, with SRH at 105/2 in nine overs.
Kishan complemented Head well, and at the halfway mark, SRH were cruising at 107/2, firmly in control of the innings and looking set for a massive total. However, the momentum shifted in the middle overs. Chakravarthy triggered a collapse by removing key batters, including Ravichandran Smaran (4) and later Aniket Verma (6), while Cameron Green dismissed Heinrich Klaasen (11) after a brief but aggressive cameo. SRH lost wickets at regular intervals, slipping from a dominant position to 135/5 15-over mark.
Despite the setbacks, Kishan held one end together, anchoring the innings with a composed knock while wickets tumbled at the other end. The middle-order struggled to convert starts, and the sudden cluster of wickets slowed SRH’s scoring rate after a flying start.
In the 16th over, veteran spinner Sunil Narine cleaned up Salil Arora to claim his 200th wicket in IPL. In the same over after being smashed for a massive six, Narine removed SRH skipper Kishan for a well-made 42 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes. SRH was 148/7 in 16 overs.
SRH continued to lose wickets as Anukul Roy in the following over got the better of Pat Cummins, after getting slammed for a big six.
Vaibhav Arora also applied pressure effectively, dismissing Shivang Kumar for just 1 and keeping the Sunrisers Hyderabad batters in check.
Kartik Tyagi put the finishing touches on the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders, dismissing Harshal Patel to bowl out Sunrisers Hyderabad for 165.
Brief Scores
Brief Scores: SRH: 165/10 (Travis Head 61, Ishan Kishan 42, Varun Chakravarthy 3/36) lost to KKR: 169/3 in 18.2 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 59, Ajinkya Rahane 43, Sakib Hussain 1/17). (ANI)
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