IPL 2018: 3 memorable clashes between KKR and SRH at Eden Gardens

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an important clash tonight at the picturesque Eden Gardens. Having won both the games they have played so far, Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to continue their winning streak, whereas Kolkata Knight Riders would want to get over the loss they suffered at the hands of Chennai Super Kings earlier this week.

Kolkata Knight Riders have won 8 out of the 12 games between the two sides. In Eden Gardens, Kolkata have won all 4 games against tonight's opponents.

On that note, let us look at 3 memorable encounters between both the sides.

#3 Gambhir, Kallis and Morgan help Kolkata secure easy win - 2013

Electing to bat first on a humid afternoon, Kolkata got off to a good start thanks to their openers Gautam Gambhir and Manvinder Bisla. The pair added 59 runs in 46 deliveries before Bisla chipped one straight into the hands of deep mid-wicket fielder Karn Sharma. Gambhir found able support from Jacques Kallis as the pair kept the scoreboard ticking. Gambhir reached his 50 in the 12th over but he didn’t last long after that as he was dismissed trying to slog one over mid-wicket.

Eoin Morgan walked out to the crease to partner Kallis. The pair took the attack to the bowling and started scoring runs at a brisk pace. Morgan, in particular, was aggressive and his quick fire 47 off 21 balls comprised 5 boundaries and 3 maximums. Kallis chipped in with a valuable 41 off 27 balls. The pair added 67 runs in quick time for the 3rd wicket, which helped Kolkata reach a formidable score of 180/4 in the allotted 20 overs.

Chasing a stiff target of 181 on a slow turning track, Sunrisers got off to a decent start thanks to Parthiv Patel and Cameron White. The pair added 57 runs in 9 overs before Patel was bowled by Kallis. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals and soon Sunrisers were reduced to 5-115 in 17 overs. In the end, Sunrisers Hyderabad surrendered for a meagre 132/7 in 20 overs, losing the game by 48 runs.

Jacques Kallis was the pick of the bowlers with 3-13 in his 4 overs. But for his 53 runs with the bat, Gautam Gambhir was awarded Man of the Match.

#2 Umesh Yadav and the spinners win it for Kolkata – 2015

This was the 38th game of the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2015. Put into bat first, Gambhir and Uthappa got the team off to a quick start. The pair added 50 runs in 6 overs. However, both the batsmen failed to convert their good starts and were dismissed in their 30s.

Manish Pandey struck a few boundaries in his 26 ball 33 before being run-out. Sunrisers further tightened the screws by picking up the wickets of Andre Russell and Ryan ten Doeschate to leave Kolkata struggling at 5-111 with 5 overs remaining. However, Yusuf Pathan’s quickfire 30 off 19 deliveries propelled the team score to 167/7 in 20 overs. This was a challenging score on a slow turning track considering Kolkata had 3 world class spinners in their side.

Chasing 168 to win, Sunrisers lost David Warner on the 3rd ball of the innings to an absolute peach from Umesh Yadav. The speedster inflicted further damage by picking up the wicket of wicket-keeper Naman Ojha for a duck on the last ball of the first over. Considering the slow nature of the pitch, Gautam Gambhir quickly introduced his spinners. Veteran Brad Hogg picked up the important wicket of Shikhar Dhawan who pulled one straight into the hands of square leg. Eoin Morgan was the next one to go as he was run out for 5. Hanuma Vihari and Bipul Sharma didn’t trouble the scorers much as both were dismissed in the 12th over.

Moises Henriques looked in good touch for his 41 before he skied one off the bowling of Brad Hogg. At this juncture, Sunrisers were 7-81, staring an embarrassing defeat in the face. However, Karn Sharma had other ideas, smashing 3 sixes off 3 successive deliveries of Johan Botha before holing out to long-on. His breezy knock of 32 added some respectability to Sunrisers Hyderabad's total as they eventually finished with 132/9, falling short by 35 runs.

For ripping the top order with his fiery spell of bowling, Umesh Yadav was awarded the Man of the Match.

#1 Yusuf Pathan’s 72 off 22 bulldozes Sunrisers Hyderabad in an epic encounter – 2014

This game would haunt Sunrisers Hyderabad fans for a long time. Before the game started, Hyderabad were already out of the tournament. Kolkata, on the other hand, had qualified for the playoffs but to achieve the top spot and get 2 chances to make the final, they needed to win by 39 runs batting first or achieve the target in 15.2 overs batting second.

Fortunately for them, they won the toss and elected to field first as chasing was their strength. The decision to field first paid off as they got the wicket of David Warner in the second ball of the innings bowled by Morne Morkel. Naman Ojha looked scratchy in his 23 ball 26 before skying one off the bowling of Ryan ten Doeschate. They suffered a major setback when Shikhar Dhawan was run out for 29. At this juncture, Sunrisers were 3-89 in 12.2 overs with the skipper Darren Sammy and Venugopal Rao at the crease.

Venugopal Rao and Sammy rotated the strike for a brief period but their partnership came to an end when Rao was run-out for 27 trying to steal a non-existent second run. With 5 overs remaining, Sammy struck few lusty blows to help his team reach a decent total of 160/7 in 20 overs.

This meant Kolkata needed to chase down the target in 15.2 overs to achieve the top spot.

Kolkata started the innings with a bang, scoring at 10 per over right from the word go, taking on the likes of Dale Steyn, Bhuvneswar Kumar and Jason Holder. Gambhir was the first to be dismissed in the 5th over with the score at 43, followed by Manish Pandey in the 8th over. Robin Uthappa kept scoring runs at a brisk pace before handing a catch to Jason Holder off the bowling of leggie Karn Sharma for a well made 41 off 30 deliveries.

84 runs were still required in 36 deliveries for KKR to achieve the top spot. Ryan ten Doeschate was then run out attempting to steal a single. Yusuf Pathan strode out to the crease to partner Shakib-al-Hasan.

In the 11th over, he smashed the off spinner Parvez Rasool for 2 sixes and 2 fours. Adding insult to injury, Dale Steyn dropped a catch at deep square leg, which went for a six.

In the 12th over, Karn Sharma dismissed Shakib but not before he was clobbered for 2 sixes by Yusuf who took his personal score to 40 off 13 deliveries.

In the 13th over, Yusuf showed his breathtaking hitting ability by bludgeoning Steyn for 26 runs in the over. There was no respect shown for the world’s best bowler as he was smashed for 2 sixes and 3 fours in the over. This was the most expensive over for Steyn in the history of the IPL.

19 were required off 14 balls and Karn Sharma was given the ball to pickup wickets. He picked up the wicket of Pathan but not before conceding a six and four off the first 4 balls of the over.

7 runs were required off 8 balls and it was a mere formality as Suryakumar Yadav smashed a six, followed by a wide off the bowling of Bhuvneswar Kumar to complete a famous victory and a spot in the Top 2 for the play-offs.