Match No. 49 saw Kolkata Knight Riders face off against poor old Sunrisers Hyderabad. Gulf News readers Abhijit Roy and Inayath Shah joined the Gulf News experts to take you through the match from Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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Match report
Kolkata Knight Riders win by six wickets to keep alive playoff prospects
Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor
Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff qualification chances alive after they huffed and puffed to a six-wicket win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad with two balls to spare. After managing to post only 115 on the board, Hyderabad bowlers strangled the Kolkata batsmen on a slow wicket. But Shubhman Gill (57 runs off 51 balls) and Nithish Rana (25) stitched together 55 runs for the fourth wicket, and Kolkata couldn’t lose after that.
When Hyderabad batted, their troubles began with the second ball of the match. After Wriddhiman Saha left, only skipper Kane Williamson (26 runs from 21 ball) looked like making a match of it. Tragedy struck when Williamson was run out, and Hyderabad couldn’t recover as Kolkata spinners Varun Chakravarthy (2-26), Shakib Al Hasan, and Sunil Narine spun a web around them. They lost wickets regularly and ended with 115/8 in 20 overs.
With 12 points from 13 games, a win in the last match should fetch Kolkata a playoff spot, given their superior net run rate.
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MIDWAY REPORT
KKR spinners throttle SRH, who finish at 115/8
Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor
The Kolkata Knight Riders must be a happy bunch. A target of 116 should be well within grasp after their bowlers repeatedly struck against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, whose batsmen never got going at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (October 3, 2021).
The toss was the lone bright spot for SRH, as their troubles began with the second ball of the match. After Wriddhiman Saha left, only skipper Kane Williamson (26 runs from 21 ball) looked like making a match of it.
Tragedy struck when Williamson was run out, and Hyderabad couldn’t recover as Kolkata spinners Varun Chakravarthy (2-26), Shakib Al Hasan, and Sunil Narine spun a web around them. They lost wickets regularly and ended with 115/8 in 20 overs.
MATCH PREVIEW
Kolkata Knight Riders are in sight of a playoff spot in IPL 2021 in the UAE. Eoin Morgan’s side is well placed with a healthy Net Run Rate, but a win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday will save them needless jitters. KKR have turned around their dawdling campaign in Season 14 with a string of stirring performances in the UAE. But they will want to be content with the fifth slot of the last two years.
In Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders have tricky opponents. With two wins from 11, the Kane Williamson-led SRH are out of contention, but they have been upsetting fancied teams and running some of them very close. KKR will want to steer clear of that.
KKR have been functioning well as a unit, but the form of captain Morgan and the fitness of overseas players Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson is a worry. The pace pack has been struggling, but the spinners have been bailing them out. They can beat Hyderabad, provided they don’t slip up.
