KKR started their IPL 2021 campaign with a clinical 10-run win over SRH, courtesy some spectacular batting from Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi.
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The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) extended their winning tally over the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 13 in 20 matches, with a win in what was both sides’ opening game of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This was also KKR’s 100th win in the IPL. David Warner’s Orange Army won the toss and elected to field, but failed to chase down the target of 189 set by the Men in Purple. Kolkata stormed the first half of the first innings with Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi obliterating the Hyderabad bowling attack.
In reply, the Men in Orange tried to put on a similar showing with Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey scoring 92 runs for the third wicket. Bairstow scored 55 off 40 balls and Pandey scored 61 off 44. However, it was not enough to see Warner’s men over the line, as Hyderabad could only manage 177. Abdul Samad fired a late flurry of shots with his cameo of 19 runs off 8 balls, but no other SRH batsman rose to the task.
Questions will be asked of the SunRisers’ middle-order. The team seems over-dependent on the likes of Warner, Bairstow, Pandey and Saha.
The Knight Riders reached a mammoth total of 187 in the first innings largely thanks to a blockbuster partnership between Rana and Tripathi. The pair added 93 runs for the second wicket in which both reached their respective half-centuries. Rana scored 80 runs off 56 balls while Tripathi added 53 off 29.
The KKR middle order seemed to fall apart after Rana’s wicket, and it seemed like the SunRisers were on course to complete an unexpected comeback. However, former KKR captain Dinesh Karthik had other plans. The wicket-keeper smashed a quickfire 22 off 9 deliveries to ensure that his side crossed the 180-run mark.
Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan picked a couple of wickets each at crucial times. Hyderabad’s pace attack, however, disappointed. There was little to no swing on display and the KKR top-order especially Rana exploited them. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan picked up a wicket each but went for 45 and 37 runs respectively.
Despite the high score, questions may be raised of Kolkata’s middle-order. Superstars like Andre Russell and captain Eoin Morgan could not get going, and Shakib Al Hasan did not get a chance to showcase his batting skills thanks to Karthik. Hyderabad player Abdul Samad took two brilliant catches to dismiss Shakib and Morgan.
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