Kolkata Knight Riders overcame Heinrich Klaasen’s six-hitting rampage with a thrilling four-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad with to Harshit Rana’s tenacity in the last overs and Andre Russell’s powerful fifty.
Harshit Rana’s tenacity in the final over and Andre Russel’s imposing fifty helped Kolkata Knight Riders survive Heinrich Klaasen’s six-hitting rampage and win by four runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL match on Saturday. Klaassen nearly turned the game on its head with a 29-ball 63 that included eight sixes and no fours. However, SRH fiercely chased KKR’s formidable 208/7, which was constructed around Russell’s (64, 25b) and Phil Salt’s 54 (40b), but only managed 204 for seven.
The South African smashed the IPL’s most expensive purchase, Mitchell Starc, for three sixes, while Bengal player Shahbaz Ahmed finished the Australian left-arm quick’s over with another six.
That 26-run over meant Starc, who joined the Knight Riders for a record Rs 24.75 crore, concluded with dismal numbers of 4-0-53-0.
Needing 13 runs from the penultimate over, KKR went on rookie pacer Rana, who was blasted for seven runs off the first two deliveries.
But first he dismissed Shahabaz and then Klaassen with his penultimate ball, which Suyash Sharma caught well backward diving to give the locals a wonderful victory.
The Hyderabad team needed five runs off the final ball, but skipper Pat Cummins was unable to hit, leaving Rana with fine numbers (3/33).
Chasing the intimidating mark on a brilliant batting wicket at Eden Gardens, Hyderabad were at 145/5, needing 61 runs from 19 balls before Klaasen arrived.
Earlier, openers Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma both hit 32, giving SRH a flawless start.
Before Agarwal was dismissed by Rana, the partnership had scored 60 runs off 33 balls.
Before Rana got involved, Narine, KKR’s trump card, performed his sorcery. The West Indian bowled from the seventh to the 13th over, allowing only 19 runs in four overs.
He just grabbed one wicket but stymied SRH’s progress in the middle overs.
However, KKR’s fielding was a disgrace. Varun Chakravarthy’s fitness was always an issue, and it was highlighted when he dropped a dolly to deprive Narine of Rahul Tripathi’s wicket.
The former KKR hitter received another reprieve in the following over, but impact player Suyash failed to hold on to a return catch.
It would have been a boundary, but umpire Yeshwant Barde obstructed the ball, leaving him grounded.
Earlier, Salt reached his third IPL fifty in just 38 balls before being removed by Mayank Markande (2/39).
After bowler T Natarajan (3/32) made early dents for Narine (2), Venkatesh Iyer (7), Shreyas Iyer (0), and Nitish Rana (9) to go cheaply, the Englishman hit 54 off 40.
However, the ‘Dre Russ’ power was within KKR’s ranks.
Russell began his match against Markande by hitting three sixes in five balls, sending the SRH leg-spinner deep into the stands.
When Aiden Markram made a stunning catch at long-on, Markande briefly believed he had the last laugh, but replays revealed he grounded the forward diving catch, giving Russell a break on 20.
The Jamaican went bonkers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s penultimate over, smashing him for two fours and two sixes while taking 26 runs, sending caution signals to the SRH team.
Kolkata scored 85 runs in the final five overs as Rinku Singh, on the other end, made a 15-ball 23. Together, the pair amassed 81 runs from 33 balls.
But Salt and Ramandeep Singh deserve some of the credit as well.
Despite losing early wickets, Salt held strong with the helpful assistance of newcomer Ramandeep, who scored an exciting 54 runs with him right away.
After slamming Cummins for a boundary, Ramandeep produced a quick move for a six.
Before Cummins removed him from the game, he smashed three more sixes off of Markande, Marco Jansen, and Shahbaz Ahmed in his 17-ball 35.
The collaboration established the tone for Russell and Rinku’s last offensive.
