IPL 2018, Qualifier 2, KKR vs SRH: 5 talking points

2018 IPL table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad overcame Kolkata Knight Riders in front of their home crowd, at the Eden Gardens by 13 runs tonight in Qualifier 2, to book their place in the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, against Chennai Super Kings, on Sunday.

Rashid Khan was the match-winner yet again for SRH, impressing with the ball as usual, but also with the bat, and in the field as well. He put in a brilliant all-round performance to lead his side to victory in a thrilling contest against KKR, who had their chances tonight, but ultimately fell short against the well-knit SRH unit.

Here are the five major talking points from tonight's match.

#5 KKR impresses on the fielding front

Playing in front of their home crowd, KKR had a spring in their shoes when they took to the field, after winning the all-important toss and sending SRH into bat.

Dinesh Karthik's side failed to pick up any wickets in the powerplay, despite a couple of close chances, but they were right on the money with their fielding, clinging onto most of the opportunities that came their way.

Most important amongst it was the catch taken by the Karthik to dismiss his opposite number Kane Williamson, that firmly put the advantage in the KKR court, especially with SRH losing Shikhar Dhawan earlier in the same over.

Kuldeep Yadav was the bowler who got the 'big two' of SRH, and he followed it up with excellent reactions off his own bowling, that saw the end of Shakib al Hasan's time at the middle, with Kuldeep getting his hands on to the shot hit back by Deepak Hooda to the stumps at the non-strikers' end.

Piyush Chawla also got into the act with an excellent catch in the deep to help dismiss Yusuf Pathan while Carlos Brathwaite, who looked to be in his groove tonight, had to head back into the pavilion, after an excellent fielding effort in the deep by Nitish Rana, saw the West Indian fall short of the crease while going for a second run.

The effort from the KKR fielders clearly had an impact on the SRH scorecard, before Rashid Khan spoiled the party for the hosts with his big-hitting towards the end.

#4 Kuldeep Yadav's double-wicket over to get rid of SRH's 'Big Two'

Kuldeep got rid of Dhawan and Williamson in the same over

Kuldeep Yadav may have had an under-par IPL 2018, but he is definitely finishing off on a high with a number of match-changing moments in the business end of the tournament.

He was at it again tonight, as he nullified the good start SRH had made, having raced to 56/0 after 7 overs after being put into bat.

Yadav got the dangerous Shikhar Dhawan out off the first ball, caught plumb LBW, while he also added the priced scalp of SRH skipper and Orange Cap holder, Kane Williamson, in the very same over to bring KKR right back into the game.

Dhawan was the aggressor in his partnership with Wriddhiman Saha, scoring 34 off 24 balls, while Williamson was caught behind brilliantly by his opposite number Dinesh Karthik, after getting a thick outside edge off Kuldeep for just 3.

#3 Rashid Khan surprises everyone with the bat

Rashid Khan turned on the swagger with his bat tonight, scoring 34 off just 10 balls

Putting the likes of Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, and Carlos Brathwaite to shame, Rashid Khan served a big surprise at the Eden Gardens tonight, with his amazing unbeaten knock of 34 off just 10 balls, showing the team's designated big-hitters on getting the job done in the death overs.

The Afghan spinner has had a terrific IPL season with the ball, but the 19-year-old showed that he has the potential to hurt the opposition with the bat as well.

He hit 4 huge sixes, yet, what was wonderful to see was the fact that he watched the ball closely before launching into his shots.

It was a wonderful cameo that firmly shifted the momentum in favour of SRH, as 50 runs were scored in the final three overs to help the visitors post a very good total of 174 in their 20 overs.

#2 Kane Williamson's brilliant captaincy

Williamson's plan to dismiss Andre Russell was an act of pure genius

To lose someone like David Warner was a big blow for Sunrisers Hyderabad no doubt, but the way Kane Williamson has steeped into the role has been outstanding.

The way he has led the side throughout this IPL campaign has been exceptional and he proved once again tonight, why he is considered as having one of the brightest minds in world cricket now.

The way he worked out Andre Russell was just pure class. Rashid Khan was in prime form tonight, and he had worked his magic to dismiss two key KKR batsmen - Robin Uthappa and Chris Lynn - with the latter's dismissal bringing the big-hitting West Indian into the middle.

It is no secret that Russell is not comfortable against spin bowling. So when Rashid came onto bowl his final over, Russell did the wise thing and was looking out to play out the over, before he could launch the offensive from the other end against the pacers.

Williamson was aware though of the importance of Russell's wicket and rung in the chances, bringing in a slip and short leg to unsettle the batsmen, and the move paid off right away, as Russell slashed hard at Rashid's googly only to be caught at slip by Dhawan.

It was a moment of inspired captaincy from Williamson and the bowler backed him up perfectly with a superb execution.

#1 Rashid Khan's wizardry with the ball

Rashid Khan picked up three key KKR wickets conceding just 19 runs in his four overs

Time and again, Rashid Khan has shown why he is ranked the premier T20 bowler in the world and it was hardly a surprise that the Afghan spinner proved the match-winner yet again for SRH.

After his heroics with the bat, and his role in the run-out of Nitish Rana, Rashid started his magic with the ball in hand, and the fear factor that the KKR batsmen had when they faced the 19-year-old was for everyone to see.

How else can one explain someone like Robin Uthappa, a very good player of spin bowling, attempt a reverse sweep off the first ball he was facing from Rashid. Not surprisingly, it cost Uthappa his wicket, and more importantly, gave Rashid exactly the kind of start he was hoping for and triggered a sense of panic in the KKR dugout.

Rashid stepped it up with the wickets of Chris Lynn and Andre Russell, the latter beautifully worked out by Kane Williamson, firmly shifting the game in his side's favour.

There was no keeping away Rashid from the action tonight, as he finished off with the catches of Shivam Mavi and Shubman Gill, to seal the fate of KKR and no prizes for guessing who walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award tonight.