IPL 2019: Match 2, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – Lesser Known Stats

Not many felt Kolkata Knight Riders would be this unlucky when there was a floodlight failure at the Eden Gardens as they faced Sunrisers Hyderabad. As they were 8 runs behind the par score at that stage. KKR needed 64 from 28 runs and SRH’s best death bowler and skipper in this game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to bowl two overs. The equation came down to 53 from the last three overs but the home team finished it with two deliveries to spare. Andre Russell smashed an unbeaten 19-ball 49 while Shubman Gill finished off with sixes in the final over.

Here are the lesser known stats from the KKR’s thrilling win over the SRH:

A winning start:

The Kolkata Knight Riders have won all their first match of an IPL season ever since the start of 2013. They defeated the Delhi Daredevils (Now Delhi Capitals) in their first game of the 2012 and 2016 editions and the Mumbai Indians in the opening game of the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

KKR got the better of Gujarat Lions and RCB in their first match of the 2017 and 2018 editions respectively. Up to 2012, the Knight Riders won their first game of an IPL season only in 2008 and 2010.

A record finish:

The 53 runs that the Kolkata successfully chased down in the last three overs are the most for any team in an IPL game. They broke the record held by the Chennai Super Kings with 50 runs during the 2012 game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai. That game witnessed Virat Kohli concede 28 runs to Albie Morkel in the penultimate over.

Overall, the 54 runs scored in the final 2.4 overs by KKR are the most by any team while chasing in the last three overs. CSK scored 52 runs when they needed 50 runs against RCB in the 2012 game in Chepauk. KXIP scored 51 runs against SRH in 2015 while CSK also scored 51 runs in the previous edition against KXIP during the 2nd innings but in a losing cause.

The Warner factor for Sunrisers:

There was no doubt about David Warner carrying the Sunrisers Hyderabad on his shoulder when he led the team till 2017. Warner’s 85 in this game was the 10th highest individual score for the Sunrisers in the IPL with seven of them coming from his bat.

The Australian had the top six highest individual IPL scores for SRH till the end of 2017. Shikhar Dhawan, however, scored an unbeaten 92 in the previous season which is the 3rd highest IPL score for SRH.

SRH gets a new captain:

In the absence of Kane Williamson, the vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar got a chance to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad. Thus, Bhuvneshwar made his captaincy debut in the Twenty20 format with this game. In fact, this was only the second time he has ever captained any team in his professional career.

He was the captain of the Uttar Pradesh team during the 2016/17 Ranji Trophy game against Mumbai. His team lost that game as well by a 121-run margin despite taking a first innings lead.

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