IPL 2018: Match 10, KKR vs SRH, Review: Sunrisers break Eden Gardens jinx to top the ladder

The record of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, has been abysmal as they were yet to win a game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Statistically, the odds were heavily stacked against Kane Williamson’s men. Nevertheless, the visitors made a mockery of the record and romped home by five wickets.

The Knights started in a spirited manner, but wickets pushed them back which never allowed the hosts to inject momentum into the innings. Subsequently, they slumped to a below par score courtesy to some immaculate piece of bowling. The Sunrisers stumbled, gasped for breath at stages during their run chase, but held their nerves to their maiden victory at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Knights limp to a respectable score

Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to chase, rightly so, bearing in mind the trends of chasing targets down by oppositions in the tournament. Bhuvneshwar Kumar drew first blood as he nipped out Robin Uthappa through an outside-edge. Nitish Rana joined Chris Lynn for the second wicket and the duo found the boundaries to keep the scoreboard moving.

However, against the run of play, Manish Pandey exhibited a tremendous jugglery act at the point region and dismissed an ominous looking Rana after the left-hander threatened to blaze away. Shockingly enough, Sunil Narine took charge in the middle order and the decision backfired as the Trinidadian floundered and became Shakib Al Hasan’s maiden victim.

Thereafter, the Knights stuttered alarmingly and lost wickets at regular intervals, owing to which they didn’t garner any sort of momentum. Chris Lynn was the only batsman who looked comfortable and was on the verge of accomplishing a half-century. To the agony of KKR, Shakib Al Hasan’s guile accounted for the Queenslander’s dismissal and the home team stared down the barrel.

Andre Russell made his intentions clear from the outset, but couldn’t replicate his form from the previous game against the Chennai Super Kings. Manish Pandey pulled off another stunner running backwards. Dinesh Karthik attempted to take the Knights to safer shores, but was dismissed in the penultimate over. After a decent start, the Knights huffed and puffed to 138 runs.

Sunrisers stutter, but scrambles to victory

During the run chase, Wriddhiman Saha, the homeboy, played his shots and took the visitors off to a blistering start. He raced away to 25 runs, which included five boundaries. However, he was dismissed in an ungainly manner when he was caught down the leg side by Dinesh Karthik of Sunil Narine. The wickets infused confidence into the Knights and they strangled the Sunrisers.

Thereafter, Sunil Narine bamboozled Shikhar Dhawan with a peach of a delivery which crashed into the timber. Manish Pandey took charge and he looked completely out of place. He became Kuldeep Yadav’s victim after straining for 11 balls. Shakib Al Hasan joined his skipper at the wicket and the duo blended caution with aggression, which bailed them out from a precarious position.

The partnership steadfastly went from strength to strength and notched a half-century stand in 35 balls, which made the Sunrisers firm favourites to win the game. Kuldeep Yadav bowled brilliantly, but conceded a couple of boundaries in his third over which tilted the game in favour of Hyderabad. Piyush Chawla broke the 59-run stand, which reignited the hopes of the Knights.

Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine bowled a couple of frugal overs which took the game deep. The Sunrisers required 13 runs off 12 balls and Deepak Hooda smacked Andre Russell over the covers to bring down the target to single figures. Thereafter Yusuf Pathan put Russell into the stands which brought the curtains down on the game with an over to spare.

Brief Scores

Kolkata Knight Riders: 138/8 in 20 overs; Chris Lynn 49, Dinesh Karthik 29; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/26, Billy Stanlake 2/21

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 139/5 in 19 overs; Kane Williamson 50, Shakib Al Hasan 27; Sunil Narine 2/17, Piyush Chawla 1/20

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets

Player of the Match: Billy Stanlake