The Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Sunrises Hyderabad in an epic super over. After the 20 overs, nothing separated the two sides and the third super over of IPL 2020 had to be played.
Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson delivered under pressure for his side as he gave away only 2 runs in the crucial over. Playing in his first match of the season, Ferguson castled both David Warner and Abdul Samad.
Kolkata Knight Riders Win Against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Once he executed a terrific over it was a mere formality for KKR. Former and new skipper of KKR, Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan knocked took their side home as KKR secured 2 crucial points.
Earlier in the match, KKR posted a total of 163 for 5 with all of their batsmen getting starts. Towards the end, a late charge from Morgan and Karthik took they beyond 160 on a tricky Abu Dhabi Pitch. Morgan scored 34 from 23 deliveries and his knock included 3 fours a six.
On the other had Karthik looked a class apart in the death overs and played a fine hand of 29 from just 14 deliveries in which he struck 2 boundaries and 2 sixes.
Chasing the total, SRH surprises everyone by promoting Kane Williamson up the order. Williamson injured his hamstring while fielding and his side trusted him to take advantage of the fielding restrictions. The experienced player gave his side a good start and along with Johnny Baristow stitched together a 50 run partnership.
Later on, it was skipper David Warner and young Abdul Samad who kept the hopes alive of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Samad in particularly struck the bowl beautifully and made 23 off 15. When he was caught at the boundary rope by Ferguson it seemed KKR will clinch the match.
However, an injured Andre Russell was given the ball to defend 18 runs off the final over. Warner struck three boundaries in the final overs and it all came down to the final ball as SRH required 2 to win. Unfortunately, the SRH skipper couldn’t hit the winnings runs and the scores were tied after 40 overs of the match.
Eoin Morgan Praises Lockie Ferguson
Eventiually the day belonged to speedster Ferguson who took 3 wickets in his 4 overs spell and then 2 in the super over. Here’s what the winning captain of KKR had to say in the post-match presentation.
“They’re nice to be part of, get a glimpse into what the guys are about. For Lockie Ferguson to come in and perform in both phases was outstanding. We’ve been sort of striving to get wins out of the last couple of games, didn’t happen against Mumbai; today we were competitive. It’ll all depend on a lot of match-ups, what we think are the right dynamics at the time [the batting order]”.
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“Andre Russell went off the field, we thought he was injured. He came back on and said he could bowl. I think he showed a lot of character to get us to the Super Over after not starting well. He’s a superstar player for us. Hopefully, we can gather up some momentum after this”, said KKR skipper Eoin Morgan post the win over SRH.
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