IPL 2018, SRH vs KKR: 5 Talking Points 

With three wins needed in the last three games to qualify for the playoffs, Kolkata Knight Riders won all three and surged ahead in the tournament. In their last league game which was a must-win encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad, they put up a very good show as they beat the table-toppers by 5 wickets.

After opting to bat first, SRH were in total control until the 15th over before some excellent death bowling from Prasidh Krishna and some poor execution from the SRH middle-order meant that the ‘Men in Orange’ had to settle for 172.

Chasing a stiff total, Sunil Narine once again provided KKR with a blazing start scoring 29 in 10 balls. Chris Lynn continued the good work as he registered his third half-century of the season. It was then Dinesh Karthik who finished and remained unbeaten in yet another run-chase as KKR confirmed their spot in the playoffs.

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#5 KKR’s powerplay woes continue as SRH get off to a flier

Shikhar Dhawan continued his good form as he scored his 32nd IPL half-century.

Kolkata Knight Riders have been one of the worst teams bowling in the powerplay this season. They have taken just 12 wickets in the powerplay throughout the tournament (in 14 games) and have also been quite expensive. In fact, they have conceded more than 50 runs on 9 occasions (including today) in the first 6 overs and the least they’ve conceded is 40 in the game against RCB in Bangalore.

In this game, KKR conceded 60 in the powerplay and failed to pick up a wicket as well. Prasidh Krishna gave away 11 runs in the second over while Andre Russell leaked 20 runs in the third. Narine was KKR’s best bowler in the powerplay as he gave just 13 runs in the two overs that he bowled with the field restrictions.

On the other hand, SRH would’ve been very happy with the start they got. Shreevats Goswami walked out to open the batting in this game alongside Shikhar Dhawan and the duo was excellent as it took the attack to the KKR bowlers. Both the batsmen had nearly identical scores at the end of the powerplay and the hosts got to 60 in the first 6.

#4 SRH crumble at the death

Prasidh Krishna bowled superbly and put the brakes on at the death.

At one point, it did look that SRH would reach a total close to 200. Kane Williamson was going very well as was Shikhar Dhawan. However, after the dismissal of the SRH skipper, the ‘Men in Orange’ couldn’t quite get the finish they would’ve liked as they scored only 44 runs in the last 7 overs.

None of the middle-order batsmen stood up for the home side as they completely lost momentum towards the back end of their innings. Yusuf Pathan and Carlos Braithwaite were out for single-digit scores while Shakib Al Hasan did score a couple of boundaries but couldn’t carry on. Manish Pandey struggled to find the boundary as well.

Prasidh Krishna, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine bowled exceptionally well at the death as they helped KKR pull things back nicely Prasidh Krishna, in particular, was excellent as he bowled 3 overs at the death and finished with figures of 4/30, giving away just 19 runs in his last 3 overs.

Those death overs where SRH lost a heap of wickets and didn’t score a lot of runs might have been the turning point of the game.

#3 Sunil Narine once again gives KKR a flying start

Sunil Narine was once again sending the ball to all parts of the park.

Sunil Narine at the top of the order has been an absolute revelation for KKR. He was always excellent with the ball but he’s now giving KKR some very good starts. In fact, he has one of the best strike-rates in this IPL (189.01).

In this game, KKR were chasing 173 but Narine once game helped KKR get off to a flier as he struck a 10-ball 29. Like always, he was not shy to after the bowling right from the first delivery. He hit Sandeep Sharma for 3 fours and a six in the second over of the chase. He then didn’t get strike for the next few deliveries. But when he was back on strike, he struck another four and a six off Shakib Al Hasan.

Narine’s fun with the bat came to an end when holed out to long-on trying to go for another maximum. But he had done his job as his 10-ball knock had helped KKR go past the 50-run mark inside 4 overs.

#2 Robin Uthappa once again gets out after getting a start

Robin Uthappa has failed to convert his starts in this season.

Robin Uthappa has been batting beautifully in this IPL. He’s timing the ball really well and has looked really good in the middle. He might have had a single-digit score here and there in this IPL, but he has largely got starts but just hasn’t been able to convert those into big, substantial knocks. He has scored just one fifty this season.

Once again in this game, Uthappa looked in brilliant touch. Sunil Narine’s explosive start allowed Uthappa to take his time at the start as the Karnataka batsman scored 18 runs off his first 20 deliveries. He was also dropped by Rashid Khan when he was on 11.

But after that slowish start, he took the attack to the SRH bowlers as he started finding the fence. But as he was looking set for his second half-century of the season, Uthappa fell trying to pull one off Carlos Braithwaite. He was dismissed for 45 as he once again missed a chance to take the team home.

#1 SRH lose three on the bounce as KKR make it to the playoffs

Sunrisers Hyderabad were looking the team to beat until last week. They had won 9 out of their 11 games and looked certain to breach the 10-point mark and seal the top spot. They were defending low totals and they also chased well in a few games.

However, in this last week of the group stages, SRH have seemed to have lost all the momentum they gathered throughout the season. They were first comprehensively beaten by Chennai Super Kings who chased down 180 with ease. Then they conceded a lot of runs with the ball against Royal Challengers Bangalore and despite the valiant effort of their batters, they couldn’t get over the line.

And in this game, they were cruising at one stage but crumbled at the death and ended up at least 15 runs short. Chasing 173, Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t look in trouble at any stage of the chase and won by 5 wickets. This win helped KKR seal a top 4 spot as they won three in a row and stormed their way into their playoffs.

While SRH are confirmed of a top 2 finish, KKR will most likely finish third and play at their home ground (Eden Gardens in Kolkata) in the Eliminator.