KKR vs SRH, IPL 2016 Results, Match Highlights & Updated Points Table

In an all-important clash, Kolkata Knight Riders took on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the penultimate game of the group stage of the IPL. SRH had already qualified for the playoffs with 16 points and for them, it was the matter of securing a place in the top 2. KKR meanwhile had to win the game to qualify or in the case of a loss, hope for RCB to defeat DD in a way that their run rate drops below KKR’s.

Though SRH had already qualified, they didn’t take the game for granted as a place in the top 2 was up for grabs. KKR too had a chance to finish in the top 2 if they defeated SRH by a big margin to surpass their net run rate and then rest on DD defeating RCB but staying below their net run rate.

In their last clash at Hyderabad, KKR won easily in a one-sided game. SRH scored 142/7 in their 20 overs in the first innings. Eoin Morgan was the top scorer with 51 runs. Umesh Yadav bowled a wonderful spell of 28/3 in 4 overs. In the second innings, Gautam Gambhir played a superb knock of 90 off 60 balls to bring the side home comfortably by 8 wickets.

There were so many permutations before the game about the possible playoff scenarios. All eyes were glued to the remaining matches. All the top 6 teams including MI had a chance to qualify.

Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field first

Playing XIs:

Sunrisers Hyderabad:

David Warner (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson, Deepak Hooda, Yuvraj Singh, Moises Henriques, Naman Ojha (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karn Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mustafizur Rahman

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Robin Uthappa (wk), Gautam Gambhir (c), Manish Pandey, Colin Munro, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Suryakumar Yadav, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot

SRH bagged 2 early wickets

Robin Uthappa had a crunching start as he smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 3 boundaries in the first over. He was timing the ball beautifully and showed ominous signs for SRH. However, he got carried away and tried to smash Barinder Sran over cover but could only manage to hit as far as the backward point fielder. He departed for 25 off 17 balls.

Gambhir was playing second fiddle to Uthappa up to that point. Munro came in and went soon as well for just 10 in the 6th over. KKR reached 48/2 as the powerplay finished.

Middle order flourished for KKR

Deepak Hooda picked up his second wicket as he dismissed Gambhir in the 8th over. He scored 16 off 15 balls. Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan then took charge of the innings. The duo attacked the bowling and boosted the run rate. Pandey took a special liking to the leg-spinner Karn Sharma and hammered him two huge sixes over mid-wicket.

The duo added 54 runs off 33 balls up to the 13th over after Gambhir’s dismissal. The score reached 111/3 with 7 overs to be played.

Superb death bowling brought SRH back

Pandey and Yusuf added 87 runs off 49 balls for the fourth wicket. But just as they looked like taking the game away from SRH, Bhuvneshwar accounted for Pandey’s wicket in the 16th over. The Karnataka native made 48 off 30 balls before holding out out to another superb catch from Kane Williamson at backward point.

Jason Holder who came in next also departed soon for just 3 runs. Pathan went on to bring up yet another fifty in the league, reaching the mark in only 30 balls. Bhuvneshwar got another as he ended the misery of Shakib Al Hasan at the crease who could get only 7 runs off 10 balls.

The bowlers, in fact ,did a terrific job at the end and conceded only 30 runs in the last 5 overs. Yusuf stayed unbeaten 52 off 4 balls and KKR put up 171 runs on the board at the loss of 6 wickets.

Bhuvneshwar and Hooda picked up 2 wickets each. Mustafizur and Sran grabbed wicket apiece. The innings did not end all that well. They could have got close to 200, but it was the SRH’s bowling that did the trick again.

Warner departed early

SRH innings started on a slow note and they scored just 7 runs in the first 2 overs. Then David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan launched against Shakib in the 3rd over. They collected 11 runs off him with a six and a four.

Sunil Narine bowled the 4th over and was smacked by Warner for a six off the second ball. Narine however, came back and cleaned him up next ball. Warner departed for 18 off 16 balls. Dhawan did not stop after the wicket and kept striking boundaries. He was joined by Naman Ojha and both took SRH safely to 48/1 after 6 overs.

KKR pulled it back with 2 quick wickets

Dhawan was playing his best innings in the league so far as he kept coming hard at the bowlers. Ojha, on the other hand, was struggling to time the ball. But Dhawan’s scoring rate was covering his slow innings. Dhawan brought up his half-century off 28 balls in the 11th over. But immediately after that he hit Kuldeep Yadav straight to the mid wicket fielder and threw his wicket away. He went away after scoring 51 off 30 balls. Ojha’s torrid stay at the crease was ended by Narine in the 13th over. He struggled his way to 15 runs off 25 balls. SRH needed 76 runs off 42 balls at that stage. Yuvraj Singh and Kane Williamson then had the responsibility to take the side through.

Bowlers took KKR to the playoffs

Yuvraj tonked Kuldeep Yadav for back to back sixes in the 14th over. It looked all set for a strong finish from Yuvraj. But as he tried to hit Shakib over deep midwicket for another six, his mistimed shot was caught by the Colin Munro and ended his cameo of 19 runs. Hooda was run out in the next over due to a massive confusion in running between the wickets. Williamson also got out in the same over for 7.

Narine sent back the last hope for SRH in the form of Moises Henriques for 11. It was all downhill for SRH from there. They needed 28 runs off the last over bowled by Ankit Rajpoot. He conceded 5 runs and got a wicket to hand KKR a playoff berth.

Narine was brilliant and finished with a spell of 26/3 in the 4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav also did well with his 2 wickets. KKR clinched a dominant win by 22 runs. They fully utilized the support of the home crowd and made it to the next round of the league. After the game, they were placed at number 3 on the points table.

Their final position would be determined after the game between RCB and DD. All was not lost for SRH as they had already qualified and were at number 2 after the match. They could drop down to number 3 if RCB defeated DD in the next game. A win would have given them the pole position. Nevertheless, they were still the contenders to lift the trophy.

Match Result:

KKR 171/6 (20 overs), Yusuf 52, Pandey 48, Hooda 16/2

SRH 149/8 (20 overs), Dhawan 51, Narine 26/3, Kuldeep 28/2

KKR won by 22 runs

MOM: Yusuf Pathan

IPL 2016 Points Table and Standings

Position	Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Net RR	Points
1	GL	14	9	5	0	0	-0.374	18
2	SRH	14	8	6	0	0	+0.245	16
3	KKR	14	8	6	0	0	+0.106	16
4	RCB	13	7	6	0	0	+0.930	14
5	DD	13	7	6	0	0	-0.102	14
6	MI	14	7	7	0	0	-0.146	14
7	RPS	14	5	9	0	0	+0.015	10
8	KXIP	14	4	10	0	0	-0.646	8