The 27th match of the IPL saw the two in-form sides Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders going head to head. The pitch at Hyderabad had plenty of runs on offer and the home side took full advantage of it.
They were asked to bat first after losing the toss but they made the KKR bowlers pay for the decision. Skipper David Warner came out all guns blazing and notched up a superlative century that helped the side post a massive total of 209/3 in their 20 overs.
KKR, in reply, were pegged back early after their openers departed inside 3 overs. Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey constructed a decent partnership for the 3rd wicket but after their dismissals, the batsmen that followed couldn’t cope with the required run rate and ultimately, they fell short by 48 runs.
Here are the player ratings from the match for both sides.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner – 10/10
The SRH skipper played the best innings of this season as he scored an outstanding 126 off just 59 balls. He went after the bowling from the outset and the KKR bowlers had no answer to his onslaught. His knock was studded with 10 fours and 8 sixes that enabled his side a massive score of 209.
Shikhar Dhawan – 6/10
Dhawan didn’t have much to do as Warner was going hammer and tongs at the other end. He played the perfect second fiddle to his captain and didn’t try to match him stroke for stroke. He scored 29 off 30 balls in a partnership that added 139 runs.
Kane Williamson – 8/10
The Kiwi batsman found himself at the crease in the 13th over when Dhawan was dismissed. Warner was still going strong and initially, Williamson provided him the strike and once he got out, went on the charge during the slog overs to finish on 40 off 25 balls.
Yuvraj Singh – 3.5/10
Yuvraj was in at number 4 when the amazing innings of Warner ended in the 17th over. The order of the day was to score quick runs at the death but the left-hander managed to score just 6 runs off 6 balls without a single boundary.
Moises Henriques – 3.5/10
The right-hander didn’t get a chance to bat and contributed only with the ball. But he gave away 31 runs in 3 overs and remained wicketless. He was taken apart by Uthappa as 2 sixes in his 3rd over hampered his figures.
Bipul Sharma – 3/10
The left-arm spinner bowled just the solitary over and was taken for 10 runs. He wasn’t called back for any further contribution with the ball in the remainder of the innings.
Rashid Khan – 5.5/10
The leg-spinner initially faced a tough time bowling against Uthappa as the batsman smashed him for a couple of massive sixes. But he got a wicket off the last ball of his spell in the form of Yusuf Pathan and finished with figures of 38/1 in 4 overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 8/10
The Purple Cap holder was on a roll once more and bagged figures of 29/2 in 4 overs. He first sent back Manish Pandey in the 11th over just when a good partnership was developing. Then, during the closing stages of the game, took the wicket of Jackson to strengthen his place at the top of bowlers’ chart.
Siddarth Kaul – 8/10
The youngster once more put in an impressive performance and ended up superb figures of 26/2 from 4 overs. He picked up the crucial wicket of Gambhir in just the 3rd over that made it difficult for KKR. Then, he removed de Grandhomme off the last bowl of the innings to improve his figures.
Mohammed Siraj – 8/10
The Indian pacer enjoyed a great time with the bowl as he dismissed the dangerous Sunil Narine in his first over. He came back to remove the key man of KKR, Uthappa who was threatening to take the game away from SRH. Siraj ended with excellent figures of 26/2 in 4 overs.
Naman Ojha – N/A
Ojha didn’t get a chance to bat and didn’t have too much to do behind the stumps and hence does not qualify for a rating.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sunil Narine – 3.5/10
The West Indian again opened the batting for KKR but unlike previous occasions, couldn’t contribute much and departed for just 1. With the ball too, he had a poor outing as he was peppered around and ended with figures of 37/0 in 3 overs.
Gautam Gambhir – 4/10
The skipper of KKR was having a wonderful time in the league but his merry run took a halt as he scored 11 off 11 balls and fell in the 3rd over while aiming to go for a big stroke. His counterpart Warner took the Orange Cap away from him and added insult to injury.
Robin Uthappa – 8/10
After the two quick dismissals, the onus was on Uthappa to take his side close to the target. The right-hander batted magnificently and struck some lusty blows. He got out in the 13th over after making 53 off 28 balls that included 4 fours and as many sixes.
Manish Pandey – 6.5/10
KKR had lost both the openers in quick succession and they needed a someone to steady the innings. Pandey combined well with Uthappa and added 78 runs for the 3rd wicket. But as he looked like getting into the groove, he was removed for 39 off 29 by Bhuvneshwar in the 11th over.
Yusuf Pathan – 3.5/10
Pathan bowled just the one over during SRH’s innings and was taken for 17 runs where Warner hit him for 2 fours and a six. With the bat, he had an uphill task when he walked in at number 5. He struggled to time the ball and was removed for 12 off 13 balls in the 16th over.
Sheldon Jackson – 4/10
Playing his second game of the season, Jackson had a poor moment in the field when he dropped a sitter on the boundary that gave Yuvraj a life. With the bat, he had too much to do and could manage just 16 off 17 balls before getting out in the penultimate over.
Colin de Grandhomme – 4.5/10
The Kiwi wasn’t given a chance to bowl in the SRH innings and when he came out to bat, the match had already gone SRH’s way and a win from there was highly improbable. He scored 18 off 15 balls and was the last man to fall in the KKR innings.
Nathan Coulter-Nile – 5/10
The Australian fast bowler was attacked by Warner in the very first over and was taken for 6 runs. His next 2 overs went for 11 runs each and he bowled the last over of the innings and went for 7 runs. His figures of 34/0 could have been better had Sheldon Jackson not dropped Yuvraj off his bowling.
Chris Woakes – 4/10
The Englishman was another victim of Warner’s punishment as he was slammed for 2 sixes and a four in his first over. His next 2 overs went for 7 and 6 runs respectively and the third over included the prized scalp of the SRH skipper. He was again smacked for 16 runs in his final over and his figures were dented to 46/1.
Kuldeep Yadav – 3/10
There was absolutely no respite on any KKR bowler and Kuldeep was also amongst the casualties. Warner handled the chinaman bowler beautifully and didn’t face any trouble against his variations. The youngster was hammered for 43 runs in his 4 overs and he would want to forget it as soon as possible.
Umesh Yadav – 6/10
Umesh was welcomed into the attack with a six in his first over by Warner. He did induce a chance in the same over but Woakes couldn’t get near a tough catch while running backwards. He was again hit for a six in the next over and his figures read 20/0 after 2 overs. But he made a good comeback and ended with figures of 30/0 in 4 overs.
