IPL 10, Eliminator, SRH vs KKR: CT player of the match – Nathan Coulter-Nile

It was the Eliminator match of the playoffs as Sunrisers Hyderabad took on Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The two well-balanced sides were expected to produce a nail biting finish but as it turned out, Nathan Coulter-Nile made it a one-sided affair in the favor of KKR. The game was heavily marred by a big rain interruption and proved to be a spoiler for the fans who were waiting for the clash for so long.

KKR won the toss and opted to bowl on a surface that hasn’t produced too many runs this season. Shikhar Dhawan didn’t spend much time at the crease and departed in the 5th over. David Warner and Kane Williamson constructed a fifty-runs stand for the second wicket but both were dismissed in a span of 3 deliveries. The innings then lost the plot and the batsmen found it hard scoring quick runs. Wickets fell at regular intervals and SRH could manage only 128/7 at the end of 20 overs.

But the rain had made its presence felt during the last over of the SRH innings and the covers were brought on as soon as the innings ended. It then stopped and started for more than 3 hours and kept the players off the field. Finally, the game resumed at 12:55 AM and the target was reduced to 48 from 6 overs as per the D/L method. KKR’s innings wreaked havoc at the start as they lost 3 wickets in 7 balls. The skipper Gautam Gambhir though ensured they didn’t make a further mess of the small target and got home with 7 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare.

The game was won by KKR in the first innings itself when they restricted SRH to a low total. Nathan Coultre-Nile was the major destructor and here’s how he scripted a win for his side:

A mixed bag initially

The Australian pacer wasn’t given the new ball and Umesh and Yadav and Trent Boult were trusted with the duties. Coulter-Nile was introduced into the attack in the 8th over. He conceded 2 singles off the first 2 deliveries and then bowled 4 dot balls in a row to Kane Williamson who found it hard to connect from the middle. Although the Kiwi made amends in the next over and struck him for a four and a six off back to back deliveries as the bowler went for 13 runs. His figures read 15/0 after 2 overs.

Trapped the big fish

The duo of Williamson and Warner had put up a half-century partnership and were well on their way to take SRH to a substantial score. But Coulter-Nile hampered their progress when he claimed the prized scalp of Williamson in the 12th over. The batsman attempted a lofted drive to a fuller length delivery outside off but couldn’t get underneath the shot and only managed to give a catch to Suryakumar Yadav at extra-cover. The dismissal turned out to be the defining one as the floodgates opened post that and a flurry of wickets fell.

An outstanding finish

The fast bowler ran in to bowl the penultimate over of the innings and bagged a wicket off the first ball. Vijay Shankar in an attempt to clear the long-on fence held out to the fielder on the boundary. Two balls later, he showed his other aspect of the game – fielding. Chris Jordan was facing and a short delivery got stuck in the surface a bit and he closed the bat face a little early as the bowl lobbed in the air to the left of the bowler. Coulter-Nile timed his dive to perfection and pouched the ball with the left hand to pick up his 3rd wicket. It was a wonderful over where he conceded just 3 runs and struck twice. He finished with magnificent figures of 20/3 in 4 overs.

For putting up a superb performance in an all important encounter, Nathan Coulter-Nile is CricTracker’s Player of the Match with a rating of 4.5 out of 5.