IPL 2021: Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers fire in unison to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to just 115

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers fired in unison to help restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a total of 115 runs for the loss of eight wickets, in Match 49 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy accounted for two dismissals apiece to make their presence felt in an encounter, where a triumph is of great importance to seal a playoffs berth. Southee and Mavi sent Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha, Abdul Samad and Rashid Khan back to the pavilion. The Indian spinner accounted for the dismissals of Priyam Garg and Jason Holder.

“It is an interesting surface. We were able to take wickets throughout the innings which stalled their innings. They were never able to get going. It is touch stoppy and a little bit on the slower side. But our quality spinners strangled them in the middle overs. (Spent) Bit of time at home after the Test Championship then got a phone call to come here and it is always nice to be part of such a great tournament. Hopefully we can get the job done today. I have been here for a while now and was able to get to speed quickly and I was able to keep ticking over back home even though it was time off. Our batters are aggressive and hopefully we can get off to a good start. If you get wickets then it is a tough surface to start your innings,” said Southee as quoted by Cricbuzz.

SRH skipper Kane Williamson was the top run-getter for SRH, with 26 runs off 21 deliveries. Williamson’s innings comprised of four boundaries. Abdul Samad was the second highest run-scorer, accumulating 25 runs from 18 balls. Samad’s tally was registered on the back of three sixes.

Williamson opts to bat after winning the toss

Williamson opted to bat after winning the toss, taking into account the fact that the surface would not observe much transformation over the course of the game.

“We’re going to have a bat. It looks like a reasonable surface and it won’t change much so we’ll make use of it with the bat. It’s an unfortunate position to be in but there’s quite a bit to gain with growth of players, in difficult conditions, especially against a side like Kolkata. Umran Malik comes in for Sandeep Sharma just to improve the balance of the side. He’s an exciting fast bowling talent,” said the SRH skipper as quoted by Cricbuzz.

KKR captain Eoin Morgan stated that he was happy to bowl first.

“We’re happy to bowl first. It’s a similar wicket to the other night, the ball swung around a little bit, there’s a shorter side on one side, but yeah we are happy chasing. Being an experienced player, the worse your form gets, the closer you actually get to a good score, so I’m hoping to turn things around and contribute to a win. I think we did a good job in the second phase, gathering momentum and playing some really good cricket. I think if we get past the challenge that SRH pose today we’ll be in an even better space. Tim Seifert goes out and Shakib comes in to improve the balance on the all-round front since he contributes with the ball as well. We probably fell short with the ball the other night and Shakib fills that void,” stated Morgan.