Varun Chakaravarthy stole the show under the heat in Hyderabad as his 3-wicket haul helped KKR restrict SRH to a below-par score. Varun Chakaravarthy was special and looked in good rhythm with the ball. It was his bowling that inspired KKR to make a comeback. Travis Head and Ishan Kishan were looking good, but Varun was special with the ball, and Sunil Narine, Kartik Tyagi, and Vaibhav Arora supported him well as SRH were bundled out for 165 in 19 overs.
Chasing 166 for the win, Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored an excellent fifty, while Ajinkya Rahane, the captain, scored 43, while Finn Allen scored 29 off 13 balls alongside Rinku Singh, who was unbeaten on 22 off 11 balls as the finisher, as KKR got over the line in 18.2 overs, winning by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare. The KKR’s hopes are still alive. SRH stays in 3rd place.
Varun Chakaravarthy’s 3-wicket haul helps KKR restrict SRH to 165 all out in 19 overs.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head came out to bat for SRH while Sunil Narine had the ball in hand for KKR. The dashing opening duo were off and running. Abhishek initially took on the bowling before he was quickly overshadowed by Travis Head. It was the Travis Head show as the southpaw dominated the proceedings out there and looked really fluent.
The duo put on 44 for the first wicket inside 4 overs before Abhishek fell for 15 off 10 balls with one four and one six to his name to Kartik Tyagi. Keeper batter Ishan Kishan came out to bat next. Head and Kishan got together and carried on from where the opening duo left off. The run rate was healthy for the Orange Army. At the end of the power play, SRH were flying high at 71/1 in 6 overs as the platform was set for a huge total. The duo carried things beyond the power play.
They were in total control as they were matching stroke for stroke out there in the middle. The duo added 61 runs for the second wicket before Head fell for 61 off 28 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy as Head’s brilliant innings came to an end. Heinrich Klaasen came out to bat with 9 overs done and dusted. Klaasen was initially dropped, a tough chance by Rinku Singh at the boundary line. But it did not cost KKR much.
Just 12 runs were added to the score before Klaasen fell for 11 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name to Cameron Green as Rovman Powell pulled off a stunning one-handed catch. Smaran Ravichandran came out to bat next and got a boundary away as well. Ravichandran did not last long as just 5 runs were added to the tally before he fell for 4 off 4 balls with one boundary to his name to Varun. Aniket Verma came out to bat next as the innings started to lose steam.
Ishan and Aniket tried to forge a partnership and added 13 runs for the 5th wicket before Aniket fell for 6 off 8 balls with one boundary to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy. Salil Arora came out to bat next. Just 4 runs were added to the tally before Salil too fell for 2 off 6 balls to Sunil Narine as the bowler clean bowled him. Pat Cummins, the captain, came out to bat next. Ishan Kishan was still keeping the fight going for the Orange Army. Just 9 runs were added to the tally before Ishan, the set batter, fell for 42 off 29 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Sunil Narine.
Shivang Kumar came out to bat next. The innings were in a freefall now. Cummins managed to hit a maximum, but he too fell soon. Just 8 runs were added to the score before Cummins, the last of the recognised batter, fell for 10 off 8 balls with a maximum to his name to Anukul Roy. Harshal Patel came out to bat next. Another one fell soon as Shivang fell for 1 off 2 balls to Vaibhav Arora as SRH were now 156/9 all of a sudden. Eshan Malinga came out to bat next.
Harshal and Malinga tried to forge a partnership and add some handy runs in the end. The duo managed to add 9 runs to the kitty before Harshal was the last man out for 6 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name to Kartik Tyagi. Eshan Malinga remained unbeaten on 2 off 6 balls as SRH were skittled out for 165 in 19 overs. 5 extras given by the fielding side.
KKR bowled well and came back well with the ball in hand. Varun Chakaravarthy was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/36 in 4 overs. Kartik Tyagi supported him well with figures of 2/30 in 4 overs, while Sunil Narine chipped in with 2/31 in 4 overs. Vaibhav Arora came back well and finished with 1/25 in 3 overs. Cameron Green finished with 1/34 in 3 overs. Anukul Roy finished with 1/8 in 1 over. So, this meant that KKR needed 166 runs to win off 20 overs to get a much-needed win.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s mature half-century guides KKR over the line with 10 balls to spare.Â
Chasing 166 for the win, captain Ajinkya Rahane came out to open the batting with Impact Player Finn Allen, while Abhishek Sharma started the proceedings for SRH with the ball in hand. Allen came out all guns blazing and made an immediate impact on the game. Rahane played second fiddle and complemented his partner really well. The duo gave KKR a fast start and allowed the visitors to stay ahead in the chase. The duo added 49 runs in 4 overs for the opening stand before Allen was the first to go, 29 off 13 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name, to Pat Cummins.
Keeper batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi came out to bat next. The duo of Rahane and Raghuvanshi got together, and with the required rate under control, they played their normal cricket and went about slowly. They took the power play score to 71/1 in 6 overs, same as SRH. The duo then aced the middle phase and did not allow the Orange Army to come back in the game. Raghuvanshi was the aggressor of the two, while Rahane held one end up. They made sure that the Knights didn’t lose a wicket in the middle phase at all.
The duo of Rahane and Raghuvanshi put on a match-winning 84-run stand for the 2nd wicket before the captain fell for 43 off 36 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Impact Player Sakib Hussain. Rinku Singh came out to bat next with 5 overs to go and 33 needed to win off 30 balls. The chase was under control. Rinku was in form and came out all guns blazing, while Raghuvanshi got to his half-century as well.
The duo of Raghuvanshi and Rinku added 18 runs for the third wicket before the set batter Raghuvanshi fell for 59 off 47 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Shivang Kumar. Cameron Green came out to bat next with 15 still needed for the win. The equation was under control. Green hardly faced balls while Rinku played the perfect role of the finisher. The duo added 18 runs off 10 balls to finish things off.
Rinku Singh finished things off in style with a couple of boundaries off consecutive balls to get the win for KKR. Rinku was unbeaten on 22 off 11 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name, while Green was unbeaten on 3 off 3 balls. KKR finished with 169/3 in 18.2 overs with 13 extras given by SRH bowlers.
From the SRH bowlers’ point of view, Shivang Kumar finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Sakib Hussain, the impact player, finished with 1/17 in 3 overs. Pat Cummins, the captain, finished with 1/47 in 4 overs. Abhishek Sharma bowled 2 overs for 14 runs. Eshan Malinga finished with 0/42 in 3.2 overs. Harshal Patel finished with 0/17 in 2 overs. So, KKR beat SRH by 7 wickets with 10 balls to spare to keep their hopes alive in the competition. Varun Chakaravarthy was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, KKR wins this match by 7 wickets and goes up to 7 points in the points table while SRH misses out on the top spot position. Both teams have upcoming fixtures in the coming week. More action to come tonight as GT are hosting PBKS in Ahmedabad in a crucial clash for the Titans.
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