SRH vs KKR Review – Kolkata stage a comeback as they defeat Hyderabad by 5 runs
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by five runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on May 4 as the hosts failed to chase down a target of 172 runs. Hyderabad’s batters failed to accelerate their innings as the visitors’ bowling attack overpowered them in the 47th game of the IPL 2023.
Coming in to bat first after winning the toss, Kolkata got off to a rocky start to the game as Rahmanullah Gurbaz was sent back to the pavilion on a duck. Furthermore, Jason Roy failed to make an impact, as he was dismissed for 20 runs. With Venkatesh Iyer failing to impress as well, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh played resilient knocks to stabilise the innings for the two-time champions. Rana scored 42 runs in 31 balls, with Rinku amassing 46 runs in 35 balls.
Natarajan and Marco Jansen took two wickets each and conceded 30 and 24 runs, respectively. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kartik Tyagi, Aiden Markram, and Mayank Markande taking one wicket each, Kolkata posted 171 runs on the board in the first innings. Coming in to chase the target, Hyderabad got off to a subpar start. Abhishek Sharma and Mayank Agarwal were dismissed on 9 and 18 runs, respectively.
However, Heinrich Klassen played a resilient knock, scoring 36 runs in 20 deliveries. Furthermore, Aiden Markram amassed 41 runs in 40 deliveries. However, none of the other batters amounted to much. Vaibhav Arora and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each during the run chase and conceded 32 and 23 runs. Respectively, with Harshit Rana, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, and Varun Chakravarthy taking one wicket each.
Best performers from the game
Nitish Rana: Kolkata skipper Rana put in a promising performance with the bat in the first innings of the game. When the side looked to be crumbling under pressure, Rana built a strong partnership with Rinku Singh and amassed 42 runs in 31 deliveries, which was crucial to his side posting 171 runs on the board.
Aiden Markram: Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Aiden Markram brought his side very close to victory. The all-rounder steadily built his innings and scored 41 runs in 40 deliveries. However, he failed to cross the finish line and chase the target down in the end.
What’s next for both teams?
Sunrisers Hyderabad will be taking on Rajasthan Royals on May 7. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders take on Punjab Kings on May 8
