Last ball thriller – Check, Power hitting – Check. KKR vs SRH at Eden Gardens had it all. If it was Russell’s blitzkrieg that helped KKR post a big total, then Klassy Klaasen helped SRH almost chase down the target. Harshit Rana produced a gem of a spell to help the hosts take a 4 run victory.
Sunrisers Hyderabad opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Kolkata Knight Riders wished for a great start, but that didn’t came. However, one of their gambles worked well for the hosts. KKR opted to snub Rahmanullah Gurbaz for Phil Salt and the move worked wonders.
KKR Bank Heavily on Dre Russ
Philip Salt, making his KKR debut went on to slam a fine fifty. He set the pace for the hosts as the rest of the top order collapsed. It was a horrible outing for KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer. Making a comeback after a year, Iyer’s stay on the crease lasted just 2 deliveries. T Natarajan bagged the KKR skipper for a silver duck, much to the disappointment of Kolkata crowd.
Sunil Narine who opened the innings departed after scoring 2 runs while Venkatesh Iyer could managed just 7 runs. But the tide was turned by KKR’s lower middle order. Debutant Ramandeep Singh slammed a crucial 17 ball, 35-run knock to set the stage for Andre Russell and Rinku Singh.
Andre Russell then lighted up the Kolkata sky with his blitzkrieg. Dre Russ muscled his way help KKR cross the 200 run mark. The Caribbean star remained unbeaten on 64 from 25 balls, hitting 3 fours and 7 gigantic sixes. Rinku Singh too was crucial with his important knock of 23 runs.
Klaasen’s Heroics go in Vain
Sunrisers Hyderabad hoped for a grand start which they got. Though KKR went on to drop quite a few catches during the powerplay, they got their first victim in the form of Manish Pandey who scored 32 runs. Fellow opener Abhishek Sharma too departed after scoring equal runs.
Former skipper Aiden Markram looked to take charge. But he too had to depart after managing 18 runs as Varun Chakravarthy dispatched him with ease. Trouble befell SRH when Sunil Narine scalped Rahul Tripathi who attempted to play a big shot. SRH went on to lose wickets as the required run rate continued to rise exponentially.
Heinrich Klaasen played a heroic recovery knock as he went on to punish Varun Chakravarthy and Russell. Talk about Shahbaz Ahmed, who was equally brilliant. But KKR struck late to dispatch both the set batters in the last over of the game as Harshit Rana put up a stunning display.
With 5 runs needs from the last ball, Harshit Rana produced a dot ball as KKR clinch a sensational win by 4 runs.
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