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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are eyeing a third consecutive win in IPL 2023 as they take on SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens on Friday, April 14.
On the back of Rinku Singh's outrageous onslaught on Yash Dayal, the Knight Riders pulled off a stunning jailbreak against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad. They will be keen to get into a good run of momentum even as the SunRisers look to capitalize on their first win of the tournament, having beaten the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Hyderabad.
The two teams in question have played out some interesting contests over the years. One can expect another nail-biter tonight, especially if the last few days of IPL 2023 are anything to go by.
On that note, let's look at three iconic encounters played between KKR and SRH in times gone by.
#3 IPL 2013 - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
It was the last league fixture of IPL 2013 and SRH needed nothing short of a win to take the last spot in the playoffs. They were up against KKR in Hyderabad, with a loss meaning that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would qualify.
The SunRisers attack was on the money with Dale Steyn and the spin duo of Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma keeping the Knight Riders quiet. Yusuf Pathan blitzed an unbeaten 49 off 29 deliveries to give the visitors a total of 130 to defend on a tacky surface.
In response, Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan set the tone with an 89-run opening stand but Iqbal Abdullah broke the game wide open with a three-wicket burst.
The game went down to the wire and it took a couple of towering sixes from Darren Sammy to power SRH to victory, sealing a spot in the Eliminator in their debut season.
#2 IPL 2019 - Eden Gardens, Kolkata
The iconic Eden Gardens played host to the second game of IPL 2019 with KKR and SRH making their bows for the campaign.
The SunRisers were asked to bat first and David Warner, who marked his return to the tournament having been banned from the previous edition, made a statement with a sublime 85. Contributions from Vijay Shankar and Jonny Bairstow complimented him as the visitors posted 181/3.
In response, Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa kept KKR on course with scores of 68 and 35, respectively. However, the Knight Riders collapsed from 87/1 to 118/4, leaving them in a spot of bother.
Fifty-three runs were required off the last three overs but a certain Andre Russell had other ideas. He tore into Siddarth Kaul as 19 runs came off the 18th over before Bhuvneshwar Kumar was next to bear the brunt of the big Jamaican, who swung for the fences at will.
The equation came down to 13 required off the final over and young Shubman Gill launched Shakib Al Hasan for a couple of sixes to script a stunning comeback for the Knight Riders.
Russell was the star of the show with an unbeaten 49 off 19 deliveries as the SunRisers could barely realize what had hit them.
#1 IPL 2014 - Eden Gardens, Kolkata
A year after SRH managed to secure a spot in the Eliminator, they were up against KKR with a slender chance of repeating the same.
The stakes were higher this time for the Knight Riders too, as they needed a win in 15.2 overs to secure a top-two finish at the expense of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Electing to the field first, the Knight Riders put in a collective effort. A number of unconverted starts forced the SunRisers to settle for 160/7 in their 20 overs before Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir got off to a flyer in the chase for KKR. Karn Sharma, however, soon got in on the act and dismantled the batting lineup with a four-wicket haul.
That was when Yusuf Pathan, who was quiet all tournament, stepped up when it mattered the most. He belted the then-fastest fifty in IPL history off just 15 deliveries and landed a knockout punch that saw KKR race past the target well inside 15 overs, securing second spot and confining CSK to third position.
Yusuf's 22-ball 72 remains one of the all-time IPL classics and it played a massive role in the Knight Riders having two shots at making the final. They only needed one, however, as they won Qualifier 1 before beating the Kings XI Punjab (as they were called back then) again in the final to win their second IPL title.
Which of these KKR-SRH classics is your favorite? Have your say in the comments section below!
Also read: IPL 2023: 3 records that can be broken in today's KKR vs SRH match
