The Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi was expected to be a high scoring affair. Both teams having lost their opening games this season, wanted to get that one win on the board. Going into the tournament Sunrisers had lost their all-rounder, Mitchell Marsh, as he picked up an injury which eventually ruled him out of the entire tournament.
On the other hand, many expected Kane Williamson to make a return to the SRH side in Marsh’s absence. But at the toss, we saw SRH make three changes to the side but Willaimson’s name was nowhere to be seen. They had brought in the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Nabi in place for today’s game.
Sunrisers batting first scored just 142 runs as their batsmen could not get off the mark that well. Manish Pandey scored a fighting 51; well aided by Saha’s 30 off 31 balls. But since the batsmen could not capitalize well in the middle overs, they ended up posting a very low total.
Also read: Dinesh Karthik Credits All-Rounders and Youngsters After Clinical Win Against SRH
Practised Power Hitting In Last Couple Of Years: Shubman Gill
In response, KKR batsmen chased down the target quite comfortably all thanks to Shubman Gill and Eoin Morgan’s crackling partnership of 92 runs. As Shubman Gill scored a match-winning 70 off 63 deliveries to seal KKR through to their first win of the season.
The man of the match of today’s game, Shubman Gill at the post-match presentation said that since the ball wasn’t spinning much it was easier to hit the ball. He went to talk about how important it was for KKR to win the game which is why they backed it up with a strong performance in this game.
“I think the ball wasn’t spinning much and was easy to hit down the ground. I have practised power hitting in the last couple of years. It was important for us to win. We bowled really and we had to back it up with a good performance. There weren’t any long conversations with Morgan. As an opener, it is my duty to see my team through.”
Also read: I Don’t Regret Batting First After Winning The Toss – David Warner
In tomorrow’s game, Rajasthan Royals take on Kings XI Punjab at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.