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New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad played a gem of a match as they rode to a convincing 22-run win over former champions Kolkata Knight Riders in Eliminator of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2016 playoffs at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.
Manish Pandey played a steady knock of 36, but was not enough to steer the former champions further in the playoffs.
Earlier, KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field first as SRH posted a challenging total of 162 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs, courtesy of Yuvraj Singh’s 44, while Kuldeep Yadav claimed three wickets for 35
KKR openers in the form of Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were off to a slow start, as with just 15 runs on the board, it was Uthappa, who fell for mere 11 to Barinder Sran, after being caught by Moises Henriques in the second over.
However, it was followed by a 38-run stand for the second wicket between Gambhir and Colin Munroe, before Munro too fell for a cheap 16 off an unfortunate run out by Yuvraj in the seventh over.
There were a couple of loose partnerships following the dismissal of Munroe, as at the score of 63, it was Gambhir, who fell for 28 to Ben Cutting, after being caught by a substitute in the 10th over, and thus leveling on the score with SRH’s skipper David Warner, who too was dismissed for 28 as well.
It was then followed by a six-run stand between Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan, before Pathan, who has been in fine form for the past few games, was dismissed for a mere couple by Henriques, after being caught by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 11th over.
Nevertheless, it was followed by an impressive 46-run stand for the fifth wicket between Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav, before Yadav fell for 23 Henriques again, after being caught by Shikhar Dhawan in the 16th over.
As the score ticked 125, it was Pandey, who seemed to be the last hope for KKR, fell for a fighting 36 to Bhuvneshwar, after being caught by Deepak Hood, while attempting a big shot over long on.
The final over from Bhuvneshwar saw 28 runs requires, but saw R Satish getting knocked over in the second ball. He was followed by Jason Holder, who fell for mere six, after being caught by Cutting, as SRH comfortably rode to a 22-run win over the former champions.
Bhuvneshwar finished with a figure of 3 for 19, thus claiming the purple cap for being the top wicket-taker in the tournament so far. Emotions were high on the ground, especially in the KKR camp, as their cheerleaders were in tears.
Brief scores
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 162/8 (Yuvraj 44, Henriques 31, Kuldeep 3-35)
Kolkata Knight Riders - 140/8 (Pandey 36, B Kumar 3-19, Henriques 2-17)
Result - Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 22 runs
