As it happened: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
By Sreshth ShahThe presentation & goodbye
That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo, but before we sign off, here's what the winning captain and the Player of the Match had to say:
Player of the match for his 71-run blitzkrieg, Rahul Tripathi: I had fun, it was special with KKR and is special with SRH as well. Russell bangs in short and I was looking for the pull if he bowled short. Varun bowls well. I didn't expect him to bowl up. I went with the shot and wasn't pre-determined. So I thought of putting him under pressure. It's been special with KKR and with the Sunrisers, the first few games have gone well. I have struggled with my health in the past week but they have supported me. I enjoy a lot. There are tough days but on good days, I look to enjoy. Before going to bat I am a bit fidgety, I am happy I could play this innings today.
Kane Williamson: It was a step up. With the ball to take early wickets against Kolkata, who keep coming at us, helped us. Our death bowling was superb. To go out there and chase it with Rahul and Markram playing so well... All in all a fantastic performance. Both Jansen and Markram are big players for us. Marco with his bouncers and with the new ball is key. Umran is unique that he touches the 150 mark. He goes for four on many occasions which is not ideal but he is always looking to improve. There are little things to improve on. The guys are working hard and good to see the improvement.
2
4
1
1
Some words...
Aiden Markram: It's nice to bat and when a guy like Tripathi gets going, makes it easy. Nice to stay till the end and finish the game. I think it's buying into suit the role that the side needs. Happy that things have fallen in place. The message is to play the situation. Rahul is aggressive and he is going to do the majority of the scoring in the partnership and from there I take over. Not a finished product but happy to contribute. In the past we've taken it in the last over and lost the game, so thought of finishing it off quickly.
Shreyas Iyer, the losing captain: Feeling very drained. I thought it was a good total. To be honest, Tripathi came in and changed the moment and didn't allow us to settle. Their bowlers executed the stuff well as the ball was seaming. As batters, we were settled at the end of the powerplay and put a great effort as a batting unit. Was an off day as a bowling unit.
1
1
Markram finishes it off in style
We were talking about the Net Run Rate just a minute ago, and Aiden Markram has done exactly that. Cummins' 18th over goes for 1-1-4-6-6, and Sunrisers Hyderabad have won with 2.1 overs to spare!
A massive win considering they started the day with negative NRR ratings, and have jumped from eighth to being among the second-placed teams in the competition!
Markram, with six fours and four sixes, finishes on 36 in 68 balls as Sunrisers complete a hat-trick of wins.
More to follow...
2
4
1
3
Crucial 50 from Markram
A 2nd IPL for Markram, who gets it in the 17th over from Narine. With the big Chakravarthy over, Markram and Narine have the ability to knock the dangerous Narine around for ones and twos. He gets his fifty in 31 balls, the dug out is standing up for his effort.
Markram made the most of Tripathi's form in the first half of his innings to get set, and then produced a two-way assault from both ends once he was ready to explode. Importantly, he managed to keep the tempo going after Tripathi's dismissal. Can Sunrisers finish the game quick and improve on their NRR now? Hyderabad need 17 in 17.
2
1
A day to forget for Chakravarthy
The full balls from Varun to Tripathi were punished over cover and long off. The half-trackers to Aiden Markram are being thumped over wide long on. Ten runs in two balls in the 16th over from the South African has brought the required run-rate down to under six. Allows Pooran to start slow. Sunrisers need 23 in 24 and Chakravarthy is 0 for 45 in three overs. He's been hit for three fours and four sixes - and only 2 of his 18 balls have been dots.
1
Tripathi falls for 71
Has Tripathi failed to finish the job? You'd have to think he's done his bit when he's scored 71 in 37 balls, but with 43 runs still needed, it is back to being 'game on'. An experienced batter would know that once set, they're in the best position to finish the contest.
He welcomed Russell for his new spell by hammering a six over deep square leg, but goes for the big shot next ball too, only to flat-bat a shot to V Iyer at long on. Walks back, disappointed, and that's the third wicket down (second for Dre).
Sunrisers need 43 in 34 balls
1
1
Markram's hat-trick
Nearly a chance for caught behind as a top-edged pull from Markram off Umesh almost went to the wicketkeeper. Ball races away for a fortuitous four and that's the first boundary in 20 balls for Sunrisers. Narine and Cummins had Sunrisers choked for runs through overs 11 and 14, but the lucky boundary followed by two more through covers from Markram to end the 14th over brings the equation down to 49 off 36
Here's a representation of the 14th over:
1
•
1
4
4
4
1
1
Tripathi keeps Sunrisers ahead
Tripathi's use of his feet and his wrists to find boundaries in front of square on the off side has seen him race away to a 21-ball fifty after Williamson's wicket. It has allowed Aiden Markram to find his feet. Don't forget, Knight Riders are Tripathi's ex-club, and he's punishing them just how Kuldeep Yadav (a former KKR man too) did so for Delhi Capitals.
The duo have been brutal on Varun Chakravarthy, smacking him for 32 runs in two overs, thereby keeping Sunrisers ahead in the contest. With eight overs to go, Sunrisers are 110 for 2, needing a further 66 to win.
1
3
2
The Umesh Yadav interview
Even while Rahul Tripathi hammers 6-4-6 in his last three balls to move to 39 in 14 balls, it's a good time to plug our newest chat with Umesh Yadav, the KKR bowler who formerly held the purple cap in the first 10 days of the competition. Click here for the full chat, where he talks about why he thinks he's doing well this time, his self doubts, and more.
What I found most fascinating was that he was actually unsold on day one of the mega auction! This is what he was feeling after day 1 of the auction: "When you are unsold in the auction two to three times, you don't know what is going to happen," Umesh said. "When the first round of the auction took place, most fast bowlers of my group were sold, I was the only one unsold. At that time you feel that maybe you might not get a chance this time.
3
Dre gets Kane
After 4+ overs of a second-wicket partnership between Rahul Tripathi and Kane Williamson, the partnership is broken. And it's the chief destroyer with the bat - Dre Russ - who does it with the ball. Gets a length ball in the sixth over to seam in somewhat, and Williamson's pull has been dragged on - like Abhishek's dismissal - on to his stumps.
Tripathi, though, has continued to rampage on through the powerplay even though he hasn't enjoyed much strike. Williamson was out for a 17-ball 16, but Tripathi has raced away to 18 in eight balls. He has Aiden Markram for company as the post-powerplay session begins with Sunrisers at 46 for 2 after six overs
1
1
Abhishek drags on!
Abhishek Sharma takes strike with Umesh Yadav running in, and manages to eke out three runs including a single off the last ball.
That brings Abhishek back on strike for the second over from Pat Cummins. Cummins starts off with three dots, and then with an around-the-stumps angle, bowls a length ball outside off that Abhishek drags right onto the stumps. He's out for 3, and that makes Rahul Tripathi join KW in the middle with the score 9 for 1 after two overs
2
2
1
1
T20 Time Out as KKR finish on 175
Bhuvneshwar puts on a show on yorkers as he keeps Russell quiet for the 19th. Suchith, the spinner, has been entrusted with the 20th. Risky move, but he gets a reward first ball as Aman goes for a slog and is bowled. Umesh gives Russell the strike off ball two, and brings Russell on strike. Knight Riders 159 for 8 in 19.2 overs and men in purple will be wanting atleast three sixes off the last four deliveries.
19.3 is a length ball clattered to long on. Single refused.
19.4 is a six over deep square leg.
19.5 is a six over long on as Russell rocks back to flat-bat a pull.
And 19.6 is four off the bat as he sweeps a full ball angling down leg.
19.4 is a six over deep square leg.
19.5 is a six over long on as Russell rocks back to flat-bat a pull.
And 19.6 is four off the bat as he sweeps a full ball angling down leg.
Russell finishes on 49 in 25 balls, Kolkata Knight Riders reach 175 for 8, and Sunrisers Hyderabad need 176 to win! That's some finish from 31 for 3 in the fifth over, and 70 for 4 in the tenth over. 55 added off the last 5, the momentum is with the Knight Riders thanks to Russell's 49 and Rana's half century.
Summary Kolkata Knight Riders 175 for 8 (Rana 54, Russell 49*, Shreyas 28, Natarajan 3-37, Umran 2-27)
2
1
1
Who is Aman Khan?
An IPL debutant, Aman Khan, walks in at No. 9 as Pat Cummins falls to Bhuvneshwar in the 19th over. The first ball to Aman is a full ball outside off, and he smacks a four over cover. Are you wondering who this new kid on the block is? Worry not, ESPNcricinfo has you covered. Click here to read, but here's the most interesting snippet from his profile.
"According to kkr.in, Aman's father wanted him to be a fast bowler, which meant he rarely got a chance to bat in his formative years. The turning point came when he had a road accident in which he injured his thigh and toe, but still played the next day and scored 60 in a local Under-14 tournament. That was enough to impress his coach Pravin Amre, who promoted him to No. 4 in the next match. Soon, he was opening the innings."
2
1
2
The slog-overs assault
Having recovered from 31 for 3, it is now time for Knight Riders to maximise the last few overs. Rana reaches his fifty in 33 balls, Umran Malik manages to avoid getting tonked by a full over faced by Russell, and on comes Bhuvneshwar for the 17th over.
But Bhuvneshwar struggles against Russell - strike-rate of 232 in T20s - and is punished almost straight away. 4-6-4 in a 16-run over before Rana (54) falls to Natarajan for a third wicket in the 17th.
Russell's on a 16-ball 26 with 17 balls to go as Pat Cummins walks in. At the end of the 18th, Knight Riders are 150 for 6 as Natarajan finishes with 3 for 37. Two overs to go.
Here's how overs 17 and 18 went:
1lb
4
1w
•
6
•
4
4
W
1
4
1
2
3
2
1
2
Analysing Sunrisers' plans to Rana
After 27 balls, Nitish Rana has creeped up to 44, but according to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball records, his control-percentage is a poor 68%. Despite that, he's found a reason to be out there, and that is also helped by Sunrisers' poor bowling plans to him.
Sunrisers have tried only one really short ball against Nitish Rana in this innings, which works in favour of the batter because he is one of the most susceptible batters against the short ball in the IPL.
According to data with ESPNcricinfo, Rana has faced 100 short balls from pacers in the IPL and 42 of them have been false shots (numbers correct up to the 13th over). Among batters who’ve faced at least a 100 short balls in their IPL career, only one batter – Andre Russell - plays a higher percentage of false shots to short balls than Rana. However, with Russell it’s a gamble to bowl short, because he scores heavily whenever he gets hold of them (though it is still worth the gamble because Russell averages 17.23 against the short ball).
With Rana though, it’s a must-try plan of attack. He has been dismissed by short balls 11 times in the IPL and averages just 13.36 runs against them. Among 45 batters to have faced at least 60 short balls in the IPL, only Sunil Narine has a worse average than Rana. And Rana’s strike rate of 145.54 against short balls is the second-worst among these 45 batters. It’s a relatively safe ball to bowl at Rana considering only 11 batters including him strike at less than 175 against short balls and the average strike rate is 192.
For now, he's at the non-striker's end as Russell mows Marco Jansen for a six in his last over of the evening, and Knight Riders are 114 for 5 with six overs to go. Rana on a 25-ball 48, Russell on 9 in 4.
1
2
Focus on KKR's middle order
We finally see spin, J Suchith, bowling his left-arm orthodox after the time out. His first over is uneventful.
From the other end, Umran comes on for the final over of the first half of KKR's innings. Five top balls are followed by a 148kph yorker and Shreyas Iyer is too slow to play at it. Stumps are rattled once again and that brings Jackson into the middle with Rana.
Rana survives an lbw call in the 11th over off Suchith, and starts the 12th with a six off Natarajan. Knight Riders 81/4 after 11.1 overs. ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster has them on course for 160 - which you'd have to think is below par at the Brabourne.
1
1
1
Finch's addition a forced change, not tactical?
Does Aaron Finch make the XI on merit and balance? From what we hear, Sam Billings was not dropped, but was unavailable.
You'd have to think that this whole situation has left Ajinkya Rahane as collateral damage. Billings' absence left Knight Riders in the uncomfortable position of finding a wicketkeeper in Jackson, and an extra overseas batting option in Finch.
1
2
1
2
A quiet period
After Natarajan's double strike, it's quite natural that No. 5 Nitish Rana and the captain Shreyas Iyer choose to rebuild. Jansen slips in a quiet third over, Umran Malik's excellent first over is ruined by a Rana boundary off the last ball of the seventh over, and the eighth is given to Shashank Singh.
Shashank is a right-arm medium pacer, who is getting some movement with his beautiful seam position. One dot, a few singles, one two and a boundary for his first over that goes for ten. Knight Riders rally on to 57 for 3 in eight overs. When will we see Suchith/Markram/Abhishek for some spin? For now, it's the time out
1
1
Chinnappampatti's miracle man strikes! (twice)
After four quiet overs of the swinging ball, Venkatesh Iyer might have been looking forward to T Natarajan's overs - after he replaces Bhuvneshwar for the fifth over - but it's been a disastrous start for the left-handed batter. Natarajan bowls a length ball on off stump, Iyer can't stop the ball - that's angling in with the arm - as he pushes to defend, and the ball goes through the gap to rattle the stumps.
Out for the first ball of the fifth over, and Sunil Narine walks in at No. 4. He is a powerplay beast after all, and shows that with a first-ball six as Natarajan bowls a length ball and Narine dispatches him away over deep midwicket.
But Natarajan's learnt his lesson that Narine feasts on a good length. Next ball, Nattu goes for a slower-ball yorker, ends up bowling a low full toss, and Narine has sliced a drive straight to cover point! W-6-W to start the over, and Knight Riders are 31 for 3!
Also a great time to recommend our #longreads feature on the bowler on fire: T Natarajan. Click to read on The Cricket Monthly.
2
1
2
A clinic from Bhuvneshwar and Jansen
The two swing bowlers are putting on a show. The two iyers - Venky and Shreyas - have been playing and missing from both ends. The shots coming off Shreyas' bats are not off the middlehe was very nearly out in the slip cordon while mis-hitting a ramp off Jansen too, and both bowlers have got the ball whizzing past the KKR captain's outside edge. ,
Venky is offering fewer attacking shots, instead trying to meet the balls with soft hands or seeing them angle across him from Bhuvneshwar. The one rare time he attacks is a short Jansen delivery he wants to cut, but some extra bounce not only makes Venky miss the shot, but it goes nearly over first slip too! Knight Riders 25 for 1 after four overs with Venky on a 12-ball six and Shreyas on a 7-ball 9.
1
2
A cat-and-mouse first over
Finch knows Bhuvneshwar will get the ball to swing, and so he stands a few metres outside the crease while taking strike. He's so far down that it's very nearly on the "danger zone" that umpires keep an eye out for.
That helps Finch negate the swing slightly even though the ball is moving in and away from him. Then Bhuvneshwar brings a catching fielder at short mid on, in case Finch plays a straight drive against the inswinger, and when Finch doesn't, then Bhuvneshwar asks the wicketkeeper Pooran to stand up so that Finch has to stay in his crease.
Pooran comes up for the last ball, Bhuvneshwar bowls an inswinger, and Finch hammers him over mid on for six.
The first over makes it looks like Finch has prepared adequately for the Bhuvneshwar challenge, but the second over brings about his dismissal! Jansen, over the stumps, gets a length ball to angle across from him. Finch goes for a wild hoick over the leg side, and the ball has taken a bottom-edge to the wicketkeeper. Knight Riders 11/1 after 1.2 overs.
1
1
Can the swinging ball trouble KKR?
Finch has his work cut out up top, more so because Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen will have the new ball. Finch has been out thrice to Bhuvi in T20s, averaging 15 runs per wicket and a strike-rate of under 85 (more details here on Ask Cricinfo). Jansen, as long as he bowls it full with the new ball, will also get the ball to move in. Finch has been lbw or bowled numerous times before in the IPL when the ball moves into him. You'd expect him to have fixed those issues over the last few cricket seasons, but you never know!
Shreyas Iyer's numbers against Bhuvneshwar are equally bad (avg: 13.7, strike-rate 85) in T20s, so there's a case for Bhuvi to be bowled out while these batters are operating. More so because Dre Russ has a strike-rate of 232 against him!
2
1
Sunrisers win the toss
Kane Williamson opts to chase in Sunrisers' first game of the season at the Brabourne. "Dew factor to consider," Williamson says. "Team is improving, growing. For us it is about focusing on our skills. Washington is not playing, J Suchith comes in."
Shreyas Iyer confirms three changes. Billings, Rahane and the injured Rasikh Salam are out. As expected, Sheldon Jackson finds his place as the wicketkeeping option, Aman Khan expected to bat in the middle order and Finch goes up to open.
Sunrisers: Abhishek, Williamson, Tripathi, Pooran, Markram, Shashank, Jansen, Suchith, Bhuvneshwar, Natarajan, Umran
Knight Riders: Finch, V Iyer, Rana, S Iyer, Aman, Russell, Jackson, Narine, Cummins, Chakravarthy, Umesh
And here's Finch: in a pre-match flash interview: "Good to be with KKR, boys have had a good start, hope to continue. (Ninth team in IPL) Is a merry go round but is a nice franchise to be in. (What he brings in) Some experience at the top of the order. My game is in good order how I'm playing last couple of days and the T20Is in Pakistan. (Vibe) Consistent group, a group that plays aggressive/up-tempo game. You take the good with the bat and Shreyas is leading beautifully with McCullum."
3
1
Finch, Aman to make KKR debut
We've managed to spot the Knight Riders team huddle, and have seen Aaron Finch and Aman Khan being given debutant caps. Knight Riders will be Finch's ninth IPL team (click to see his IPL record/team).
Aman Khan is a "hard-hitting top-order batter who also bowls handy medium pace, Aman played a lot of his age-group cricket alongside Shreyas Iyer, his Kolkata Knight Riders skipper", according to the KKR unit. He has since made his Vijay Hazare debut for Mumbai, which the side won, and has played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy as well.
The question now is: if Finch comes in, then who goes out? If it is Billings, then there has to be a third change for Knight Riders tonight since they need a wicketkeeper and Sheldon Jackson isn't in the XI. We'll find everything out in a few minutes.
2
1
It's Orange v Purple tonight
No we are not talking about the orange and purple caps. It's Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on Kolkata Knight Riders with both teams looking solid, with very little to choose between the two sides. Knight Riders are 3-2 in five games but Sunrisers are on the back of two straight wins. We have plenty of things to talk about today, but before that, here's a buffet of content for you to enjoy before the first ball:
1. Knight Riders have been hit with an injury. Rasikh Salam has been ruled out, a replacement has been named. Elsewhere, Deepak Chahar is wholly ruled out of the IPL 2022, and Delhi Capitals physio Patrick Farhart has tested Covid positive. All the details in our IPL newsfile.
2. SRH vs KKR preview: Batting under scanner as resurgent Sunrisers face the Knight Riders challenge.
3. Video preview of the match with Sanjay Manjrekar and Ben Cutting.
4. Who should replace Washington Sundar at Sunrisers? Sanjay Manjrekar discusses. ICYMI, Washington has suffered a split webbing injury.
2
3
2
2