IPL 10, Eliminator, SRH vs KKR - 5 Game Changing Moments

The Eliminator fixture was a repetition of last year. Sunrisers Hyderabad were up against Kolkata Knight Riders. Kolkata completed their revenge, as they will now play against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at the same venue on Friday. The match was the rain-struck one, and Sunrisers will feel that the rain helped KKR a lot.

Electing to field first as Gambhir normally does, KKR bowlers bowled exceptionally well. They always kept a check on the run-rate and managed to pick up wickets at regular intervals. After the dismissal of captain David Warner, Hyderabad was never looking threatening to get to a big total. But what followed was a complete flop-show, as KKR conceded just 30 runs in last 5 overs.

The rain was the unnecessary intruder. The game was reduced to 6 overs, with a revised target of 48. But as the people in the commentary box said, D/L method never goes hand-in-hand with T20 cricket. It gives a massive upper-hand to the team batting second. Unfortunately for SRH, here the team batting second was KKR. KKR lost a few wickets early but managed to recover well, owing to a superb knock from the captain.

Let us look at the 5 game changing moments of the match-

1. Warner’s wicket

David Warner was looking dangerous. 37 from 35 may not be dangerous in T20 cricket, but on the relaid M Chinnaswamy wicket, it was a valuable knock. The 13th over had just begun and Sunrisers already had put up 75 on the scoreboard. 150 was on the cards, had Warner stayed there. But he was undone by Piyush Chawla. Kane Williamson took the way back to the dressing room just a couple of balls earlier. Warner wanted to pull Chawla, but the ball kept a bit low. His middle stump was out of the ground and Hyderabad never quite really comeback from the double setback.

2. 19th over by Nathan Coulter-Nile

Sunrisers were 118/4 at the end of 18 overs. At least 135 was achievable from that point. But Australian fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled an exceptional 19th over. It is often considered as the most vital over in T20 cricket. In the penultimate over, where the batters are looking for boundaries and sixes, Coulter-Nile conceded only 3 runs. In addition to it, he took the wicket of Vijay Shankar and Chris Jordan. It was a scintillating catch of his own’s bowling to dismiss Chris Jordan. That over dented Hyderabad’s hopes.

3. Rain

Probably the most vital point. It was raining the entire day in Bangalore but the M Chinnaswamy has the best in class drainage and the sub-air system that ensured the game could still be played despite persistent showers. If overs are reduced in T20 cricket the team batting second gets a huge advantage as wickets are not taken into account. Hence when the officials announced a six over chase, the faces in the SRH camp were gloomy. They knew the battle was half-lost. After the rain, the surface now had a sheen on it. With the firepower KKR possess, 48 from 6 over seemed like a cake-walk for them.

4. Skipper coming out to bat after two early wickets

KKR wanted to finish off the game early. Because if the rain wished to turn up again, it would have been all but over for the two-time IPL winners. Hence they went with the Uthappa-Lynn opening pair. But Lynn departed early after hitting a six. Yusuf Pathan was run-out in the very next ball. There was a mix-up between Uthappa and Yusuf, and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar capitalised on the chance.

Talking of pinch-hitters, Narine was waiting in the dugout. Suryakumar Yadav was there too. But the captain decided to take the responsibility on his shoulders and came out at number 4. He played a captain’s knock of 32 runs from 19 balls.

5. 4th over by Siddarth Kaul

KKR were 27 at the cost of 3 wickets after 3 overs. They needed 21 runs from the last three overs. Not that 21 runs from three overs is a tough ask in T20 cricket, but Sunrisers wanted someone who can keep the batters under pressure and get a wicket. But Kaul’s over shifted the game completely towards KKR. One six and a four, and Mumbai knew who they will face in Qualifier 2.

When an economical over was needed, Kaul leaked as many as 14 runs. From there, the match was all but over for the David Warner-led team. Not only the match, but the season too was over for the defending champions.