Image Credit- BCCI
At Eden Gardens on
Saturday, Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad came dangerously close to
stealing the win from Kolkata Knight Riders, but Harshit Rana, 22, successfully
defended 12 off the last over to get KKR across the finish line in a thrilling last-ball
match.
As Sunrisers gained momentum, Klaasen pulled Harshit for six over square leg in
the 20th over, setting up a perfect start for the team. However, in the
following five balls, the seamer sealed the deal with two singles, two wickets,
and one dot.
Earlier, Sunil
Narine’s 1 for 19 in four overs on a pitch that was good for batting (there
were no boundaries in the spell) silenced the Sunrisers throughout the middle
overs. Bowlers of all skill levels went for a lot on this surface, but his
economy of 4.75 was a total anomaly.
Ramandeep Singh, Phil Salt, and Andre Russell were also responsible for KKR’s
first-inning score of 208. With the help of Salt’s 40-ball 54 on his KKR debut
and Ramandeep’s 17-ball 35, the hosts recovered from 51 for 4. Finishing off
the KKR innings, Russell hit seven sixes in his 25-ball, undefeated 64.
KKR were 123 for 6
with six overs remaining in the first innings, and a spectacular finish was
still required if they were to reach 200.
Russell destroyed Mayank Markande’s bowling stats in the 16th over, smashing
three sixes – two down the ground and one over midwicket – to reach 20 off 11
balls after scoring two runs in his opening five deliveries.
Russell took full advantage of a good match-up to demolish the seasoned pacer
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, striking six and four in the 17th over his comeback. T Natarajan
bowled the 18th, which also went for 15, and Russell hammered Bhuvneshwar for
four, six, six, and four when he came back for the 19th, using his strength and
the narrow boundaries to muscle 26 runs.
That helped KKR
touch 200 in 19 overs even as Rinku fell for a 13-ball 25 to become Natarajan’s
third scalp of the night.
The Sunrisers got
off to the kind of start they needed to chase down 209, a mark that would have
required the fourth-highest chase in IPL history, thanks to twin 32s from
openers Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma. However, they were both dismissed
in the sixth and eighth overs by Russell’s and Harshit’s short balls,
respectively. Around that time, Shreyas Iyer visited Narine, following the
conclusion of the powerplay.
In order to silence Rahul Tripathi and Markram, Narine bowled steadily on a
decent length and found turn in both directions. In his first over, he let up
just two runs, and in his second, he almost got Tripathi out after the batsman
misplayed a slog sweep.
Klaasen has
dominated the last eighteen months with his improved range of shots against
pace and his transformation into a devastating spin hitter. With Sunrisers
needing 102 in 8.2 overs, he entered at No. 5. Despite his poor start, he
quickly discovered his range against Varun Chakravarthy, going from six in
seven balls to eighteen off twelve with two sixes in the fourteenth over.
Upon Chakravarthy’s return for the eighteenth, with the target appearing
unlikely, Klaasen once more showed his strength by smashing two more sixes. The
most expensive player in IPL history, Mitchell Starc, was then brought back for
the 19th over, and Klaasen hit him for three sixes in a 26-run over.
However, Klaasen’s
dismissal at the hands of Harshit, one ball after smacking his eighth six,
deflated Sunrisers and allowed KKR to close the game out.