In yet another last-ball thriller, Nitish Rana-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by just five runs at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. SRH botched up the run chase despite needing just 38 runs from last five overs with skipper Aiden Markram in the middle. Rana used his bowlers well as SRH crumbled and lost too many wickets in slog overs to lose out on two crucial points. In the end Varun Chakaravarthy held his nerve to guide KKR to a much-needed win away from home.
SRH's run chase of 172 got off to a decent start. Mayank Agarwal attacked from the start but Harshit Rana got the better of him with a bouncer. Agarwal scored 18 runs from 11 balls including two fours and one six. In the next over, Shardul Thakur got the wicket of Abhishek Sharma who scored just nine runs from 10 balls. Rahul Tripathi went after Andre Russell as the Caribbean all-rounder started off with a no ball. But Tripathi's nine-ball 20 cameo ended in Russell's over itself. After powerplay overs, SRH had 53/3 on the board.
Impact player Anukul Roy was introduced into the attack and he trapped Harry Brook in front of the stumps. The DRS went in Anukul's favour as Brook bagged a four-ball duck. At halfway stage, SRH were 75/3. Skipper Aiden Markram took his time whereas Heinrich Klaasen attacked. In the 11th over, Klaasen hit Roy for two sixes. Markram opened his arms with two fours off Chakaravarthy. In the 15th over, Thakur broke the partnership. Klaasen went for a big shot but the ball did not have enough pace on it. Russell took an easy catch in the outfield. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 36 runs from 20 balls including one four and three sixes.
Thakur conceded two boundaries in the same over. In the last five overs, SRH needed 38 runs from 30 balls. In the 17th over, there was another twist in the run chase. Markram went for a tennis fore-hand like shot but got caught by Rinku Singh. The skipper scored 41 runs from 40 balls including four fours. Chakaravarthy bowled a brilliant 18th over as he conceded just five runs. However, KKR messed up two easy run out chances. In the last two overs, SRH needed 21 runs.
Arora bowled the penultimate over and got the wicket of Marco Jansen. Bhuvneshwar Kumar came out to bat and started off with a boundary. Arora erred and bowled a no ball which was hit for a boundary. He came back well and bowled a dot on free hit delivery. Nitish handed the ball to Chakaravarthy to defend nine runs in final over. After two singles, Abdul went for the big hit but got caught at the boundary. He scored 21 runs from 18 balls including three fours. Markande attempted a ramp shot but missed the ball. Markande went for a big shot but could score just a single. Chakravarthy finished off with a dot ball to help KKR win by five runs.
Earlier, Nitish won the toss and opted to bat first. Fit-again Jason Roy started off with two fours in Bhuvneshwar's over. Jansen struck with his first ball as Rahmanullah Gurbaz got out for a golden duck. Venkatesh Iyer got a boundary through edge but he went for a pull and lost his wicket in the same over. Kartik Tyagi erred and was expensive at first but got the wicket of Roy in the fifth over. The English opener scored 20 runs from 19 balls including four fours. After powerplay overs, KKR were 49/3.
Rinku and Nitish got the innings back on track with timely hits. In the 10th over, Rana went after Tyagi hitting him for a four and two sixes. At halfway stage, KKR were 90/3. Markram in his third over got the wicket of Nitish. He scored 42 runs from 31 balls including three fours and as many sixes. Russell came in to bat and got off the mark with a six. Russell smashed Markande for a six as well. Just when it seemed that it will be a Russell show Markande tossed it up and lured him into a shot he was not in a position to play. Russell fell to a leg-spinner again. He scored 24 runs from 15 balls including one four and two sixes.
Bhuvneshwar came back into the attack and got Sunil Narine out. In the 18th over, Thakur went for a big shot but got caught at deep point. In the penultimate over, Anukul hit two boundaries off Bhuvneshwar's 13-run over. T Natarajan bowled a fantastic final over. First, he got the wicket of Rinku who hit four fours and a six. It was followed by Harshit's run out. Natarajan conceded just three runs in the final over as KKR posted 171/9.
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