Sunrisers Hyderabad hosted the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 54th match of IPL 2018 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday (May 19).
Facing the pressure of a must-win game to qualify for the playoffs, KKR batsmen did a commendable job to register a 5-wicket victory over the table-toppers.
Opting to bat first, SRH rode on Shikhar Dhawan’s fifty (50 runs off 39 balls) and Kane Williamson’s blazing 17-ball 36 to post a competitive total of 172/9 on the board. Prasidh Krishna was the stand-out bowler for KKR as he scalped 4 for 30 in his 4 overs.
In reply, KKR got off to a flier with Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn adding 52 runs for the opening wicket in just 3.4 overs. Shakib Al Hasan got rid of Narine on 29 that led to Robin Uthappa’s arrival at the crease.
Lynn and Uthappa then forged a 67-run partnership for the second wicket to put KKR in a commanding position. Siddarth Kaul got the prize scalp of Chris Lynn on 55. Subsequently, Uthappa (45 runs off 34 balls) took the charge and stitched a 30-run stand with skipper Dinesh Karthik to almost seal the deal for KKR.
After Robin’s dismissal, Karthik (26* runs off 22 balls) accompanied with Andre Russell, Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill to complete the formalities as Kolkata eventually chased down the target with 2 balls to spare.
Twitterati were impressed to see the way KKR batsmen stepped up to the plate in a must-win game.
Here are some of the top tweets:
Three former #IPL title winners SRH, CSK and KKR have now qualified to the playoffs in #IPL2018.
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) May 19, 2018
The fourth and final place to be decided by tomorrow among defending champion MI, inaugural winner RR and one time finalist KXIP.#SRHvKKR
Well done @KKRiders into the play offs and they will play at home. Before the tournament many had questioned the team and must say @DineshKarthik has done a stellar job in holding it together. @VenkyMysore
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) May 19, 2018
Should @SunRisers fans start to worry? Third loss in a row now for them as they head into the finals!! #SRHvKKR #VIVOIPL
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) May 19, 2018
No team has played so many uncapped Indian players (Shubhman, Nitish, Mavi, Prasidh, Rinku) as #KKR...and that’s why your heart goes out for them. It’ll be a wonderful story if they qualify...a proper Team Effort. #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 19, 2018
Not many gave @KKRiders a top 4 chance post the auction. Well, they’ve made it as team number 3.. Haven’t depended on one or two heroes through this campaign.. They’ve played like a team ????????#SRHvKKR
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) May 19, 2018
Congratulations @KKRiders for making it to the play-offs. The bowlers pulled things back brilliantly after a good start for SRH and in the chase after a good start, DK’s calm presence made it an easy chase. #SRHvKKR
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 19, 2018
In his first stint as captain in IPL @DineshKarthik has led from the front like a BOSS and with a collective team effort has taken his side into the playoffs in style. Serious Contenders now @KKRiders #SRHvKKR
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) May 19, 2018