IPL 2021: Match 3, SRH vs KKR – Kolkata Knight Riders Player Ratings

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), after a disappointing campaign in 2020, have made an incredible start to the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team, led by Eoin Morgan, beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 10 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

It also happened to the Men in Gold and Purple’s 100th victory in the cash-rich and prestigious T20 tournament. After being put in to bat first, the Knights amassed 187 for the loss of six wickets in their 20 overs. In the run-chase, the Orange Army tried their hearts out.

Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow notched half-centuries, but the required rate kept going up. The Sunrisers needed 20 runs to win in the last over, but a stupendous over from Andre Russell made sure that SRH fell short in the encounter.

Here are the KKR Player Ratings for the SRH vs KKR match:

Nitish Rana- 9.5/10

Nitish Rana went after the Sunrisers’ bowling right from the word go. The southpaw notched his half-century off 37 balls. He managed 80 runs off 56 balls with nine fours and four sixes. It was Mohammad Nabi, who got rid of him.

Shubman Gill- 3.5/10

Shubman Gill started with a four and an elegant six off T Natarajan. But he couldn’t carry on as Rashid Khan rattled his woodwork to cut short his stay after the batter got 15 runs off 13 balls.

Rahul Tripathi- 8.5/10

Rahul Tripathi threw the kitchen sink at everything from the time he came to bat. He scored 53 runs off 29 balls with five fours and two sixes. Natarajan got rid of the right-hander in the 16th over of the Knights’ innings.

Andre Russell- 5.5/10

Andre Russell’s dry run with the bat continued. He tried to take on Rashid but holed out to Pandey. With the ball in hand, the Jamaican picked up the crucial wicket of Vijay Shankar and also bowled the brilliant last over.

Eoin Morgan- 6/10

Eoin Morgan tasted success as a skipper, but he didn’t have the best of days with the bat. The left-handed batsman got out to Nabi for two runs. However, he took a couple of useful catches in a critical situation.

Dinesh Karthik- 7.5/10

Dinesh Karthik is known for his cameos and he played one on the day. The veteran right-handed batsman came to bat with 15 balls left in the innings and managed 22 runs off nine balls with two fours and a six.

Shakib Al Hasan- 7/10

Shakib Al Hasan didn’t have much to do with the bat in hand. He came to bat at number seven and scored three runs. He also picked up the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha in his very first ball and gave away 34 runs.

Pat Cummins- 7.5/10

Pat Cummins was sharp up front as he didn’t give away many runs. In his final over, the young Abdul Samad hit him for a couple of sixes though. The pacer also picked the all-important wicket of Bairstow.

Harbhajan Singh- 5/10

Harbhajan Singh opened the bowling for the Knight Riders and it was the only over he bowled. The tweaker churned out three dot balls and was hit for a six by Saha over the cover region.

Varun Chakravarthy- 5/10

Varun Chakravarthy didn’t quite have the best day with the ball in hand. In his four overs, the youngster went for 36 runs and bowled only five dot balls. He was hit for two fours and as many sixes.

Prasidh Krishna- 8.5/10

Prasidh Krishna got the prized wicket of David Warner in his very first over and then he nipped out Nabi, who was looking dangerous with the bat in hand. In four overs, he only gave away 35 runs with as many as 11 dot balls.