Abu Dhabi, Sep 26 (UNI) Dinesh Karthik and his boys put out a brilliant all-round display to
open their account in Dream XI IPL 2020 with a resounding 7-wicket win over Sunrisers
Hyderabad.
Saturday night belonged to all the KKR supporters who believed in the team despite the disappointments of the opening match.
In a tweet, Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan
wrote, “Was happy that all the kids in the team got a good match and ended up on the
winning side. @RealShubmanGill @NitishRana_27 @ShivamMavi23 #Nagarkoti ( be
healthy) welcome #Varun and the big guys of @KKRiders u r awesome for looking after
them.”
Shubman Gill was the man of the hour as he sparkled with a mature 70 not out off 62
balls to see his team safely over the line.
“I think the ball wasn't spinning that much and it was easier to hit down the ground rather
than playing square. I've practised a lot in the past couple of years, especially power
hitting. My job was to be set in the middle and see the team through. I think it was really
important for our team to get this win,” said Shubman after the match.
Shubman is barely 21 years old but the brain that sits on his shoulder is of an experienced
cricketer. We have barely seen him itching to play big shots when the situation doesn’t
demand it. Perhaps this is why we don’t see him throw his wicket away more often; and
perhaps this why the KKR think tank considers him as a part of the leadership group.
Chasing a below-par total of 143, it was business as usual for Sunil Narine and Gill to
open the innings for KKR. Even though the chase wasn’t steep, Narine chose to press the
attack mode right away, and as a result, fell for a duck while playing an unnecessary shot
against Khaleel Ahmed.
Gill, however, was impressive with his thoughtful strokeplay. He mostly focused on playing
straight and once in a while targeted the square boundaries. Eoin Morgan pitched in with a
brisk 29-ball 42 not out as well and treated us with some glimpses of his class.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad looked completely
aghast in front of the KKR bowling attack. We could see a few changes in KKR’s playing XI
on Saturday, with Kamlesh Nagarkoti making his IPL debut and Varun Chakravarthy donning
the Purple and Gold for the first time. Against Mumbai, KKR’s bowling attack looked
lackadaisical, but on Saturday, the bowlers seemed to be on fire, especially Pat Cummins!
The Aussie started with the new ball in this match and troubled the top order with immaculate
line, length and swing. Bairstow fell to one of his dreamy off-cutters early in the innings, while
the dangerous David Warner struggled to even sneak regular singles off his bowling.
Cummins ended up with 11 dot balls in his 4 overs with an economy rate of 4.75 RPO.
Varun Chakravarthy was another name that deserved a shoutout for his wonderful spell of
1/25. He not only conceded 9 dot balls, but also picked up the most crucial wicket of Warner
(36 off 30) with an effortless return catch off his own bowling.
Kolkata tried out 7 bowlers, and by the look of it, their strategy worked pretty well as the
SRH batters never looked in a position to dominate the game. The only batsman for them
who showed some resistance and aggression was Manish Pandey (51 off 38).
Following this win, KKR have gone up to the 5th position on the points table. They next
play Rajasthan Royals in Dubai on September 30.
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