Despite Heinrich Klaasen’s heroic inning, SRH failed to chase down KKR’s 209 as the latter bagged a thrilling last-over victory.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured their first win of the IPL 2024 season in a thrilling encounter against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on March 23rd. What initially appeared to be a comfortable chase for SRH after restricting KKR’s batting, turned into a nail-biting finish with KKR emerging victorious in the final over. SRH won the toss and sent KKR to bat first. The Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a shaky start. The opener Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, and captain Shreyas Iyer all fell cheaply within the first four overs, leaving KKR reeling at 32/3. However, Philip Salt played a crucial knock of 54 runs, providing some much-needed stability.
The middle order came in to rescue KKR’s innings Ramandeep Singh also chipped in with a quickfire 35 and got dismissed later by SRH skipper Pat Cummins. The turning point came with Andre Russell’s explosive knock. Russell smashed a fiery 64 runs off just 25 deliveries, forming a crucial 81-run partnership with Rinku Singh. This late surge drove KKR to a respectable total of 208 runs. Mayank Markande and Natarajan proved to be the most effective bowlers against KKR as the duo bagged a total of 5 wickets for their team.
With the bat however, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) chased valiantly but fell short. Openers Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma provided a decent start, but a stiff target kept the pressure on SRH. Heinrich Klaasen’s fighting 63 runs kept them in the hunt.
Despite Mitchell Starc’s expensive spell (53 runs, 0 wickets), KKR bowlers tightened their grip in the death overs. bagging the match for the home team, Harshit Rana shined with a three-wicket haul, including the crucial dismissal of Klaasen and Ahmed in the last over.
Last Updated on March 23, 2024
