A great all-round performance with the bat and ball by Rashid Khan helps Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 13 runs in the second qualifier played at Eden Garden’s, Kolkata just finished few moments. Despite KKR doing well, Rashid Khan showed his class with the bat and helped SRH to post a competitive total. While chasing, again Afghan sensation again proved why he is the best with the ball and took SRH into the finals.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field first. Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Shikhar Dhawan and Wriddhiman Saha got the team off to a steady start. At the end of 6 overs, both openers scored 45 runs.
After the power play overs, Kuldeep Yadav dismissed the dangerous Shikhar Dhawan for 34 runs. SRH lost their 1st wicket at the score of 56. In the same over, Kuldeep Yadav got the big wicket of SRH captain Kane Williamson. KKR spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine picked regular wickets which put pressure on Sunrisers Hyderabad batsmen. The Afghanistan teen sensation came to the crease and scored a quick-fire 34 off 10 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes with a strike rate of 340.00. In the last over, Prasidh Krishna was smashed for 24 runs. SRH posted a competitive total of 174 for 7 in 20 overs.
For Kolkata Knight Riders, Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of bowlers with 2 for 29. The young Prasidh Krishna was smashed in the 20th over by Rashid Khan.
Chasing 175, Kolkata Knight Riders openers Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine gave the team a flying start adding 40 runs in 3.2 overs. Sunil Narine was dismissed by Siddarth Kaul for 26 runs off 13 balls. At the end of 6 overs, KKR scored 67 for 1.
After the power play overs, Chris Lynn continued aggressive stroke play. Nitish Rana was looking good and was run out for 22. Rashid Khan came and picked the wicket of Robin Uthappa for 2. Shakib AL Hasan dismissed KKR captain Dinesh Karthik for just 8 runs. Rashid Khan and Shakib AL Hasan bowled brilliantly in the middle overs but not giving runs and also picking wickets.
Rashid Khan dismissed well set Chris Lynn for 48 to leave KKR in trouble at 108 for 5 and then got the big wicket of Andre Russell for 3 in the same over. Young Shubman Gill played a blinder of the inning scoring 30 off 20 balls but could help KKR win the match. Carlos Braithwaite took 2 important wickets in the final over which help Sunrisers Hyderabad a much-needed win by 13 runs.
SRH 174 for 7 in 20 overs ( Wriddhiman Saha 35, Shikhar Dhawan 34, Rashid Khan 34*, Kuldeep Yadav 2/29) beat
KKR 161 for 9 in 20 overs ( Chris Lynn 48, Shubman Gill 30, Sunil Narine 26, Rashid Khan 3/19, S Kaul 2/32) by 13 runs.
KKR captain Dinesh Karthik said: We did not play well in this match. Despite losing today’s match, we had a pretty good tournament. While batting in the 10 over mark, we had the match under control but losing quick wickets was a turning point. I and Robin should have batted entire overs. If I batted, then we would have won the match.
SRH captain Kane Williamson said: It was a great fighting effort as the game was twisting from one side to another. In crucial moments, the boys stood up and the game could have gone either way. While bowling the game was slipping from us but the boys showed great character to pull things back. Lots of guys made contributions which helped to qualify for the finals. Rashid Khan was brilliant with both bat and ball.
Man of the match Rashid Khan: It was much-needed performance from me, wanted to give 100% performance in all departments. The seniors told me to believe in your skills. While bowling I wanted to focus on bowling correct line and lengths not allowing batsmen to score runs.
The top two teams in the league stage Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Chennai Super Kings in the grand finale on 27th May at Wankedhe Stadium, Mumbai.