IPL 2019, Match 2, KKR vs SRH : 3 key reasons why KKR beat SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders are one among the arch-rivals in the Indian Premier League. Both the teams faced each other at Eden Gardens to kick-start their journey in IPL 2019. Having won the toss, KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik chose to bowl first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was captaining the SRH team in the absence of Kane Williamson who had to miss the game due to an injury.

Jonny Bairstow and David Warner started the proceedings for Sunrisers. The duo looked positive and approached the KKR bowling in an aggressive manner. Warner’s batting was sensational as he scored 85 runs off 53 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes. Though there was a little slump after the destructive southpaw got dismissed, Vijay Shankar ensured that SRH crosses the 180 run-mark.

Chasing 182, Lynn perished shortly after hitting a six off Shakib Al Hasan in the second over. Though Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa looked positive to chase the total, the asking rate was continuously increasing and to make things worse, they lost three quick wickets in the middle overs.

Fortunately, Andre Russell’s monstrous hit in slog overs sealed the game for the Kolkata Knight Riders. On that note, let us have a look at three reasons behind KKR's win in the match.

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#1. The amazing pullback by KKR at the later stage of SRH's innings

KKR's bowlers pegged back things in the last few overs

Having won the toss, Dinesh Karthik decided to bowl first. David Warner and Jonny Bairstow started the proceedings in an aggressive manner. KKR bowlers were completely bereft of ideas as the opening stand of Sunrisers crossed 100-run mark in the eleventh over.

If the opening duo had continued in the same fashion, KKR would have needed to chase in excess of 200 runs. However, Chawla dismissed Bairstow in the 13th over while Russell removed Warner who was eyeing his third century against KKR.

Russell returned to dismiss the struggling Yusuf Pathan in his next over. The run-rate dipped gradually and crossing 180 seemed to be a tough task. However, Vijay Shankar's aggressive batting towards the end helped SRH post 181 runs in their allotted overs.

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#2. The Partnership between Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa

Nitish Rana was very impressive in the match

Chasing 182, Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa joined at the middle after Lynn got dismissed quite cheaply. They approached the chase in a calculated manner, hitting boundaries off the bad balls and stealing singles when possible.

Rana made amazing use of the opportunity of opening the batting as he played an excellent knock of 68 runs. He was really unstoppable as he reached his fifty very soon. Robin Uthappa provided able support to the southpaw.

Uthappa was dismissed off Siddarth Kaul in the 12 over while Nitish Rana was removed by Rashid Khan in the 16th over. The partnership was a crucial one for KKR as one more wicket at that stage would have pushed them towards the brink of defeat.

Though there was a small hiccup in the middle overs as DK and Uthappa fell in consecutive overs and Rana got dismissed at crucial time, Russell ensured that KKR crosses the line successfully.

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#3. Andre Russell’s onslaught

Russell's brutal hitting got KKR home

KKR were progressing well at one stage with 9 wickets in hand and well set batsmen at the crease. However, Sunrisers came back into the game and removed 3 quick wickets, thus leaving Kolkata in a spot of bother. The run rate had also started to increase at an exponential rate.

53 runs were required off last 3 overs. Siddarth Kaul was entrusted with the responsibility to bowl the 18th over. However, it was not to be his day as Andre Russell smashed 2 sixes and a four in the over which included 3 singles too. 19 runs came off that over. Although the momentum had totally shifted in the favour of Kolkata, the job was yet to be done.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned for the penultimate over when Kolkata required 34 runs off last two overs. Russell was struggling a bit in the 17th over when he faced Bhuvneshwar. But to everyone's surprise, he smashed 2 sixes and 2 fours in the 19th over, thus killing any competition left in the game.

With 13 runs required off the last over, young lad Shubman Gill hit two huge sixes to seal the game for the home team. Russell thus turned out to be the game changer for KKR. The all-rounder hit 49 runs off 19 balls with the help of 4 fours and 4 sixes.

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