IPL 2018, KKR vs SRH: 5 reasons why KKR lost

The 10th match of IPL 2018 was a clash between the table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad and the young Kolkata side led by Dinesh Karthik.

Kane Williamson inserted the opposition in after winning the toss. Kolkata’s inning never really got going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Billy Stanlake and Shakib Al Hasan were the star performers for Hyderabad with the ball as both picked up two crucial wickets each.

As a result, KKR stumbled to a score of 138 of their 20 overs. In reply, Sunrisers did not begin well as they lost both the openers cheaply.

However, a fifty-run partnership between Williamson and Al Hasan ensured that the Sunrisers would go on to register their third win on the trot.

Let us have a look at the five reasons why the Kolkata Knight Riders lost the contest.

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#1 Hyderabad’s superlative fielding

SRH's fielding was outstanding

It may not be wrong to say that Hyderabad fielded “out of their skins” today. The match witnessed two catch of the season contenders as Manish Pandey showed why he is considered amongst the best in the fielding department.

Resuming after the rain break, Nitish Rana slapped a cut shot with great power to point. Having a reaction time of less than a second, Pandey somehow managed to hold on to the ball diving to his right.

This was not the end of it. The moment of the match came when Andre Russell, the superstar of last game, was brilliantly caught by Pandey.

He ran 20-30 meters backwards before completing the catch. The dangerous looking Chris Lynn was also wonderfully caught off his own bowling by Al Hasan. These catches completely turned the match in Hyderabad’s favour.

#2 Strange batting order

Gill came in at No.7 today

It is no secret that the KKR’s team management likes to experiment with their batting order. However, in today’s game, they made one too many changes.

The superstar of the U-19 World Cup Shubhman Gill was made to bat at No.7. Gill had scored all his runs batting at No. 3 and looked out of sorts batting lower down the order.

Sunil Narine who has had a fairly successful spell at the top of the order, came in to bat at No.4 and failed to get going.

Karthik also came in too low down the order. He has been in the form of his life and should promote himself up the order to provide stability to KKR’s innings.

#3 Complete bowling performance from Hyderabad

Bhuvi picked up three wickets today

It is safe to say that the Sunrisers have the best bowling attack in the IPL. They have the swing of Bhuvi, the pace of Stanlake, the accurate left-arm spin of Al Hasan and the variations of Rashid Khan.

All of them clicked in today’s game. Bhuvi got three wickets for just 26 runs as Kolkata’s batsmen struggled to pick his knuckleball.

Stanlake was outstanding as well as he picked up the crucial wicket of Russell and gave just 21 runs off his four overs.

But the pick of the bowlers was Al Hasan who managed to pick both the big bitters- Narine and Lynn. The trio shared seven wickets between them and gave away only 68 runs of their 12 overs.

#4 Captain cool Williamson

Williamson played an assured innings to guide his team home

Williamson knows that he has big shoes to fill as he has replaced David Warner as Hyderabad’s skipper.

He has begun on the right note. After another astute display of captaincy, Williamson provided the calm head that you need in a small chase.

While wickets were falling at the start, the New Zealand skipper kept his cool and nudged the singles around.

His two fours off Kuldeep Yadav in the 10th over helped to ease nerves in Sunriser’s dugout. He was also happy to give the strike to the more destructive Al Hasan, who was striking it nicely. His fifty ensured that the Sunrisers were in touching distance of the target.

#5 All round performance from Shakib

Al Hassan's all-round display ensured a hat-trick of wins for SRH in IPL 2018

Al Hasan is one of the best all-rounders in the game. His frugal bowling to go along with his lusty hitting makes him a complete package.

Anything that the Bangladeshi all-rounder touched today, turned to gold. While bowling he got the two crucial wickets of Narine and Lynn.

He dived full length to his left to send the dangerous looking Lynn back to the hut. He came to the crease when Hyderabad was reeling at 55/3.

He trusted his natural instincts and played his shots. Al Hasan slammed Russell for 14 runs off three balls to bring the required run rate under control.

His all-round performance ensured a hat-trick of wins for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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