Chennai: Fine half centuries from Nitish Rana (80, 56b, 9×4, 4×6) and Rahul Tripathi (53, 29b, 5×4, 2×6) and their 93-run second wicket stand followed by some disciplined bowling helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 10 runs in their IPL-14 encounter here Sunday. After being put in KKR scored 187 for six in their 20 overs and then restricted the opposition to 177 for five.
SRH were always under pressure when they set out for the victory target off 188 runs after losing skipper David Warner (3) and Wriddhiman Saha (7) cheaply. Even though Jonny Bairstow (55, 40b, 5×4, 3×6) and Manish Pandey (61 n o, 44b, 2×4, 3×6) tried their best it was not enough for the Hyderabad side. KKR skipper Eoin Morgan made some astute bowling changes and that always kept SRH at check. Prasidh Krishna (2/35) was the pick of the KKR bowlers while Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Shakib Al Hasan picked up a wicket apiece.
Earlier Afghanistan spin twins Rashid Khan (2/24) and Mohammad Nabi (2/32) came good for SRH to restrict the Knights to a total below 190 when 200-plus definitely looked on the cards with Rana and Tripathi at the crease.
Nabi got Rana and Morgan (2) while Khan, who had earlier dismissed Shubman Gill (15), sent back the dangerous Andre Russell (5). However, it was yorker specialist T Natarajan (1/37) who started the fightback by having Tripathi caught behind by Saha.
It was only due to the efforts of former skipper Dinesh Karthik (22n o, 9b, 2×4, 1×6) that KKR could close in on the 190-run mark.
KKR were off to a flier with Gill and Rana putting up a half century stand with two balls of the power play
SRH won the toss and skipper David Warner had no hesitation in putting the opposition in. However, both Gill and Rana were out of their blocks in a flash and in no time KKR were 50 without loss with two ball of the power play still remaining. Khan however, had an immediate impact on the game once he came into bowl. He fooled Gill with a googly and the batsman was bowled trying to hit Khan over the top.
Then came the rollicking 93-run stand for the second wicket between Rana and Tripathi that set up the game for KKR. In the end it was former skipper Dinesh Karthik’s (22 n o, 9b, 2×4, 1×6) which enabled KKR post a total close to 190.
Brief scores: KKR 187 for 6 (Nitish Rana 80, Rahul Tripathi 53, Dinesh Karthik 22 n o, Rashid Khan 2/24, Mohammad Nabi 2/32). Beat SRH 177 for 5 (Manish Pandey 61 n o, Jonny Bairstow 55, Prasidh Krishna 2/35) by 10 runs.
