Following Venkatesh Iyer’s impressive resurgence during the final overs, the KKR bowlers executed a precise performance, decisively overcoming their rivals from the previous season’s final. Varun CV and Vaibhav Arora were instrumental, each claiming three wickets as SRH was dismissed for 120 in the 17th over. This 80-run defeat marks the largest margin of loss for SRH, who have now suffered three consecutive defeats, significantly impacting their Net Run Rate.
Venkatesh Iyer help KKR reach a fighting total
Sunil Narine greeted Pat Cummins with a six over long-on, but the SRH captain countered by dismissing Quinton de Kock through a strategic short delivery, enticing the left-hander to pull, with Zeeshan Ansari positioned at deep square leg to take the catch. Mohammed Shami then removed Narine with a full delivery outside off-stump, resulting in a nick to Heinrich Klaasen behind the stumps. Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi managed to stabilize the innings during the remaining PowerPlay, sending short balls over the square leg and fine leg boundaries.
Zeeshan Ansari bowled two economical overs before Raghuvanshi targeted him in the third, although the leg spinner concluded that over by claiming Rahane’s wicket. Shortly thereafter, Raghuvanshi was nearly dismissed himself, but Nitish Reddy dropped a catch at deep square leg off Simarjeet in the 12th over. Raghuvanshi reached his half-century, and the drop did not significantly impact SRH, as Harshal compensated with a remarkable catch, sprinting in from deep backward point. This achievement marked Kamindu Mendis’s first IPL wicket. Venkatesh Iyer then struck his first six of the season as the match approached its final overs.
Following a 12-run contribution from Venkatesh and Rinku Singh off Shami, the latter faced Harshal in the 17th over, hitting three consecutive fours. They continued their aggressive approach, scoring 17 runs off Simarjeet in the next over. Venkatesh escalated the onslaught against Cummins, achieving his second consecutive half-century against SRH in just 25 balls, the previous one occurring in the 2024 final. He began the 20th over with a six and a four but was dismissed on the third delivery, caught sharply at the long-on boundary by Aniket Verma. KKR concluded their innings at exactly 200 runs, with Andre Russell missing a short ball on the final delivery and being run out by Klaasen.
SRH's batting lineup fold yet again due to haste
Travis Head struggled with the uneven nature of the pitch, leading to a misplayed shot that was caught by Harshit Rana, resulting in his dismissal on the second ball of the innings. Harshit quickly followed up by having Abhishek Sharma caught at slip with a slower delivery in the second over. Vaibhav Arora then dismissed Ishan, leaving SRH in a precarious position at 9 for 3. The wickets could have increased to four, granting Arora a double-wicket maiden, but a dropped catch by Andre Russell at mid-on allowed Mendis to continue. Nitish Reddy attempted to stabilize the innings, scoring 15 runs off Arora in the fifth over. However, Varun CV concluded a remarkable PowerPlay for KKR with an economical four-run over.
The decline of SRH persisted as Nitish fell to Russell in the seventh over after hitting a catch to mid-on. Following a timeout after nine overs, Kamindu also succumbed, hitting a catch to the midwicket fielder off Narine for a score of 27 off 20 balls. Varun CV proved difficult to score against, as Aniket Verma discovered, falling victim to a powerful shot. Rahane bowled five consecutive overs of spin until the 12th over, during which SRH managed only 33 runs while losing two wickets. Klaasen ended the scoring drought in the 14th over against Narine, hitting two significant sixes, and narrowly avoided being dismissed after a slight edge went unnoticed by the umpire, with Rahane opting not to review. Arora returned to prevent any further damage for KKR by dismissing the South African, leaving SRH at 112/7.
Varun CV then took the wickets of Cummins and Simarjeet Singh in consecutive deliveries, concluding his outstanding spell with figures of 3-22. Russell sealed the comprehensive victory in the 17th over by claiming the wicket of Harshal.
SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders 200/6 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 60, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 50, Ajinkya Rahane 38; Mohammed Shami 1-29) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 120 in 16.4 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 33; Varun Chakaravarthy 3-22, Vaibhav Arora 3-29) by 80 runs
