Sunrisers Hyderabad won the match by 13 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Rashid Khan was awarded the Man of the Match for his exceptional match-winning all-around performance that led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their second IPL final match. Team Circle of Cricket gets down to list the 5 talking points of the match.
Good start by SRH openers
Sunrisers Hyderabad started off well with their innings after the visitors were asked to bat first in the second qualifier match. Wriddhiman Saha came in to replace out of form Shreevats Goswami. Both the openers added 56 runs for the first wicket partnership to strengthen SRH campaign.
Saha top-scored for SRH with 35 off 27 with Shikhar Dhawan chipping in a quick 24-ball 34. They provided the middle order batsmen with a very good platform to clinch in to score runs.
Spinners pull things back for KKR in the middle overs
Spinners of KKR, Kuldeep Yadav, Narine, and Piyush Chawla pulled things back by bowling effectively in the middle overs to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad's speed and send the opening pair back in the dressing room. All the spinners took 80 percent of the SRH wickets.
Kuldeep dismissed Dhawan and Williamson in the same over. wickets at regular wickets helped KKR nudge ahead. The way spinners brought back things within KKR's reach it looked like they will scuffle at the end of the innings.
Rashid Khan's cameo takes Sunrisers to 174
It was Rashid Khan's magic with the bat that took the visitors to a total of 174. Rashid Khan played a magnificent cameo, in the end, to bring back SRH in the game. His cameo of 34 runs included four mighty sixes and two dashing boundaries.
Rashid Khan's 10-ball cameo worth 34 took SRH to a healthy 174 eventually. Khan chipped in with some useful runs for the Sunrisers at a crucial stage. His batting was a treat to watch for all the crowd, gathered at Eden Gardens.
Rashid turns things around with the ball
Rashid Khan turned out to be a nightmare for Kolkata Knight Riders as he took three crucial wickets in the second half of the match to damage KKR's batting line-up. Rashid triggered a middle-order collapse by dismissing Robin Uthappa cheaply, followed by Lynn and Russell.
All of the wickets were very important in terms of Kolkata chasing 174 if one of them would have stick to his crease the results could have been different for both the sides.
SRH makes their way to the finals
Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch victory over Kolkata Knight Riders to make their way clear for the final match which is to be played against Chennai Super Kings on 27th of May. Kolkata falls short of 13 runs as they were been knocked out by SRH in the second qualifier.
Carlos Brathwaite picked up a couple of wickets in the final over to dash KKR's hopes of a final-over heist. Kolkata stumbled at the second last hurdle as they lost regular wickets in the middle overs to never recover and succumb to a heart-breaking loss.
