Pune: Andre Russell’s clinical all-round performance helped Kolkata Knight Riders thrash Sunrisers Hyderabad by 54 runs in the 61st match of the IPL 2022 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Saturday.
Fighting knocks by Andre Russell (49 not out off 28) and Sam Billings (34 off 29) guided Kolkata Knight Riders to 177/6 in 20 overs. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, KKR were struggling for 94 for five after 11.3 overs but Russell and Billings stitched a partnership of 63 runs for the sixth wicket and ensured their team had a solid total on the board.
Apart from Russell and Billings, Ajinkya Rahane (28 off 24) and Nitish Rana (26 off 16) also made vital contributions with the bat for KKR. On the other hand, Umran Malik (3/33) was the most successful bowler for SRH while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/27), Marco Jansen (1/30) and T. Natarajan also chipped in with one wicket each.
Hyderabad’s speed demon Umran Malik rattled the Kolkata batting with his twin strikes in one over to send back Rana and Ajinkya Rahane. In the next over, Malik got skipper Shreyas Iyer bowled for 15 but Russell and Billings, a wicketkeeper-batsman, rebuilt the innings and put the pressure back on Hyderabad.
Russell finished off the innings with three sixes in spinner Washington Sundar’s final over - 20th of the innings.
In reply, Williamson’s dry run with the bat - scored just 208 runs in 12 matches - this IPL extended to another game as he got bowled while attempting the scoop shot off Russell.
Wickets kept tumbling as Southee’s stunning caught and bowled effort to take down a rampaging Abhishek Sharma, for 43, and Aiden Markram out bowled for 32 off Umesh Yadav.
Russell and Southee rattled the Hyderabad middle and lower-order to derail the opposition chase. In the end, Sunrisers Hyderabad were restricted to 123-8 in 20 overs.
Russell (3/22) was the most successful bowler for KKR while the likes of Tim Southee (2/23), Umesh Yadav (1/19), Varun Chakravarthy (1/25), Sunil Narine (1/34) also picked crucial wickets at regular intervals.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 177/6 in 20 overs (Andre Russell 49 not out, Sam Billings 34; Umran Malik 3/33) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 123/8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 43, Aiden Markram 32; Andre Russell 3/22) by 54 runs.
