IPL 2020 8th match: Clinical KKR outsmart SRH to register their first points

Tags: Indian T20 League 2020, Kolkata XI vs Hyderabad XI , 8th Match at Abu Dhabi, Sep 26, 2020, Kolkata XI, Hyderabad XI

Published on: Sep 26, 2020

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IPL 2020 8th match KKR vs SRH Updates: The Kolkata Knight Riders put on a professional show as Sunrisers Hyderabad looked clueless for most part of the match. SRH’s overdependence on their openers was visible again as they finished at a subpar score of 142, and KKR opener Shubhman Gill played a breezy 70 to achieve the target without much fuss.

David Warner won the toss and went against the normal practice of bowling first. He came to open alongside the dangerous Bairstow. Both of them gave their team a good start with a few boundaries in between. Opening the bowling for KKR were offie Narine and Cummins.

The Aussie pacer was bowling with some great fire and his figures after bowling two overs read 2-0-4-1 as he castled Bairstow with an absolute peach. Warner was playing a measured knock and was determined to stay till the end. However, “mystery” spinner Varun Chakravarthy was introduced and he foxed Warner to leave SRH at a vulnerable 59-2 with about 11 overs remaining and both of the star openers gone.

It was the time for Manish Pandey to step up and bat through. He did just that, mixed caution with aggression and played like a proper number three. It was Saha however, who was surprisingly sent at number four and was struggling to get going. After the 15 over mark, both of them went for the big shots and lost their wickets, but not before Pandey registered a fine half century. Nabi, playing his first game, hit a couple of boundaries as SRH finished at 142-4.

Chasing a modest 143, KKR lost their “hit or miss” opener Sunil Narine to Khaleel Ahmed as Nitish Rana came ahead of skipper Dinesh Karthik. Both Gill and Rana combined to hit some crisp boundaries, with Rana in particular looking really good. However, he played one shot too many as he edged Natarajan and Saha grabbed it safely behind the stumps. DK came at number four but was dismissed leg before wicket to Rashid Khan for a three ball duck.

Morgan made his way to the crease and looked highly unconvincing against Rashid initially. With the required rate a little over 6 runs per over, he took his time as he watched Shubhman Gill play a sublime knock from the other end.

SRH bowlers were looking ordinary and were running short of ideas, barring Rashid Khan. Morgan started looking much more reassuring especially against fast bowlers as the match came to a close. He only hit the winning runs as he finished with 42* and the young Shubhman Gill finished with a classy 70*

-- Jatin Shad

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