@B0$
Travis Head's blazing 28-ball 61 went in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad dramatically collapsed after the fall of the opener, and struggled to find a way back in the contest. Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi stitched an 84-run stand, with the latter stroking his fifth IPL half-century, to ensure the chase proved to be a cruise for Kolkata Knight Riders, who registered their third win of the season.
@B1$
@B2$ Sunrisers Hyderabad 165 in 19 overs [Travis Head 61 (28), Ishan Kishan 42 (29); Varun Chakaravarthy 3-36, Kartik Tyagi 2-30] lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 169/3 in 18.2 overs [Angkrish Raghuvanshi 59 (47); Sakib Hussain 1-17 ) by 7 wickets
@B3$
It was a collective performance with the ball, led by Varun Chakaravarthy, who struck three crucial blows in the middle overs, to trigger the collapse. Even as the spinner was taken apart early on, he made a strong comeback. He couldn't finish his quote after hurting his leg in the third over, but by then he had done enough damage. Sunil Narine and Kartik Tyagi provided the necessary support as SRH failed to arrest the slide.
@B4$
For the first time in six years, the new ball was handed to Sunil Narine to bowl the first over in the IPL. The ploy was obvious - keep the hard-hitting SRH openers in check with balls spinning away from them. It's a tactic that many teams have used this season, but not quite with the desired result - even as Abhishek Sharma has fallen to offspinners twice earlier. Travis Head, with his pulls, and Abhishek, with his inside out shots, ensured that the tactic wasn't as productive as KKR would've liked. Narine conceded 20 runs from the two overs.
@B5$
Not really. Abhishek mistimed a pull off Kartik Tyagi in the next over and the opening partnership ended on 44. The pacer did trouble them by extracting a fair bit of bounce from the surface, at high speeds. Even as the openers did cruise at over 11-an-over, it's far from the usual scoring rate they canter at when at their best.
Nonetheless, Head took apart Cameron Green for three boundaries in the fifth over, and Ishan Kishan put Tyagi under the pump in the sixth to help SRH pick 71 runs from the Powerplay.
@B6$
Travis Head enjoyed a fair share of luck in the previous game when he cruised to a half-century. But he needed none of that by the time he reached the landmark by depositing Chakaravarthy into the stands down the ground. While he did eventually fall to the away going delivery, when he mistimed a pull to deep mid wicket, but by then, enough damage was done (28 scored off 12 against spin), earning the respect of the bowler who patted him on his way back to the dugout.
@B7$
KKR had just about started to seize some momentum back following the dismissal of Head. Narine returned to the attack and slipped in a two-run over. In the next over, Green nearly had Klaasen off the second delivery when he flicked a delivery to long on. However, Rinku Singh misjudged the line and ended up stretching himself more than he should have, and the ball burst through his palms and went over the ropes. Klaasen's stay, nonetheless, didn't last too long. After cracking a boundary, he was caught at deep square leg by Rovman Powell who took a superb full-stretch diving catch. It was one of the best catches of the tournament, and paved the way for a brief slide.
@B8$
Following the dismissal of Klaasen, Tyagi, Chakaravarthy and Green slipped in four frugal overs, conceding only 22 runs, with the spinner accounting for the dismissals of Smaran Ravichandran and Aniket Verma. Through this period, Kishan looked scratchy and struggled to come to terms with the pace of the wicket. A shot from Kishan hit Chakaravarthy on his leg in his third over, and he had to leave the field without completing his full quota.
@B9$
Narine returned to bowl his final over in the 16th, and added to SRH's woes by cleaning up Salil Arora with a carrom ball. In the process, he ended up becoming the first overseas bowler to the 200-wicket mark in the IPL. Kishan did attempt to take the attack to the spinner, and even clubbed him for a six. But as he looked to sustain that attack, he ended up miscuing one to long off.
@B10$
The wipe out of the tail didn't take too long. SRH lost nine wickets for only 60 runs, in the space of 60 balls, to get bundled out for 165. It was the fourth-worst batting collapse in IPL after a team had posted more than 100 runs despite being only one wicket down. Despite the collapse, SRH didn't choose to bring in an additional batter as an Impact Substitute.
@B11$
With a first-ball boundary. A full-toss whipped for a four by Ajinkya Rahane.
But the real carnage took place in fourth over, when Finn Allen carted Pat Cummins for two boundaries and as many sixes, as the pacer ended up conceding 27 runs - the most he ever has in T20s. The opener departed in the last ball of the over, but that brief carnage was enough to bring down the required rate significantly and set the stage for a comfortable chase.
@B12$
Not really. On a surface with limited assistance for bowlers, and a required rate well under control, Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi faced little difficulty in going through the motions. At times, they were beaten, and at times, edges flew just past the fielder's reach. It wasn't as dominant as they would've liked - going slower in the middle overs than even SRH - but at no point did the chase seem out of grasp. They put on an 84-run stand and by the time they departed, the chase was a mere formality.
@B13$
There is no change to the standings despite the result. SRH have retained their third spot on the table, while KKR continue to languish at eight despite their third win of the season.
@B14$
While SRH will stay back in Hyderabad to face Punjab Kings on Wednesday (May 6), Kolkata Knight Riders will enjoy a longer break after heading to New Delhi, where they will take on Delhi Capitals on Friday (May 8).
