KKR vs SRH Review – Hyderabad pounce high-flying Kolkata
Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded back-to-back wins with a crucial 23-run triumph over Kolkata Knight Riders in the 19th match of IPL 2023. Harry Brook registered a first century this year and Markram smashed a quick fifty to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad to 228. Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh registered quick fifties, but the Knight Riders managed to score just 205/7 to suffer their second defeat of the season.
Rana won the toss and invited Sunrisers Hyderabad to bat first at Eden Gardens. Brook was quick to give Sunrisers a flying start, but Andre Russell gave Kolkata a breakthrough with Agarwal’s wicket and dismissed in-from Rahul Tripathi in the same over. Brook and Markram continued the good start, adding a crucial 92 for the third wicket. Markram got his fifty in just 25 balls but was dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy as Brook kept the scoreboard with Abhishek. The latter added quick 32 runs before getting out in the 19th over, but Brook remained unbeaten to score 100* off 55.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave Sunrisers Hyderabad another promising start with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s wicket in the first over, while Marco Jansen got Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine’s wickets on consecutive balls in the fourth. Rana and Narayan Jagadeesan added a 62-run stand for the third wicket to drag Kolkata to 82/2 in eight overs. But Mayank Markande impressed again with two wickets of Jagadeesan and Russell to shift momentum towards Hyderabad again.
Rana (75 off 41) put in a 69-run stand for the sixth wicket with Rinku Singh (58* off 31). The duo kept the Knight Riders’ hope alive in a big chase, but T Natarajan dismissed Rana to deny Kolkata a late comeback.
Top Performers from the match:
Harry Brook: The youngster opened the innings and remained unbeaten on 100 off 55 with the help of 12 fours and three sixes.
Andre Russell: The all-rounder dismissed Mayank Agarwal on his first delivery in IPL 2023. He was the leading wicket-taker for Kolkata last season and took three wickets for 22 on his first spell this season.
What’s next for both teams?
KKR will take on Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on April 16 while SRH next face the same team on April 18 at home
