Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were not long ago languishing at the bottom of the points table, won their third game on a trot by defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders comprehensively.
Batting first, the Knight Riders put up a total of 175 runs on the board. Aaron Finch, playing his first game of the season, scored just seven runs while his opening partner Venkatesh Iyer managed only six runs. Captain Shreyas Iyer scored a slow-paced 28, while Sunil Narine was dismissed after hitting one six in the two deliveries he faced.
Nitish Rana then stabilized the ship with a half-century, while Andre Russell remained unbeaten on 49. For Sunrisers, pace duo T Natarajan and Umran Malik picked up two wickets between themselves.
Chasing 176 to win, the Sunrisers got off to a poor start, losing both their openers early. But Rahul Tripathi scored a magnificent 71 off just 37 balls to seal the deal for his side. Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran remained unbeaten on 68 and five runs each.
Andre Russell picked up two wickets while Pat Cummins chipped in with one. Cummins has been expensive in all the three games he has played so far, and that is something the franchise will take note of ahead of their next game.
“Feeling very drained. I thought it was a good total. To be honest, Tripathi came in and changed the moment and didn’t allow us to settle. Their bowlers executed the stuff well as the ball was seaming,” said Shreyas Iyer in a post-match presentation.
“As batters, we were settled at the end of the powerplay and put a great effort as a batting unit. Was an off day as a bowling unit,” said Iyer.
Image credit: IPL
