IPL 2019: Match 2, KKR vs SRH: 3 Men who were instrumental for KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second match of IPL 2019 in an absolute thriller. KKR won the toss and elected to bowl first on a batting-friendly surface. SRH scored 181 in the first innings, which were chased down by KKR with 6 wickets and 2 balls to spare.

SRH started their innings with a bang as David Warner and Jonny Bairstow stitched a 100-run partnership. They lost their way a little bit in the middle overs and allowed KKR back into the game. At one point SRH looked set to cross the 200-run mark but they were kept down to 181 for the loss of three wickets.

KKR started slowly in their chase and lost Chris Lynn early. But, Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa steadied the ship, before the scariest finisher in T20 cricket, Andre Russell with Shubhman Gill saw the game off to give the hosts their first victory of IPL 2019.

In this slideshow, we talk about the 3 men who were instrumental for KKR in the win.

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#1 Andre Russell

Andre Russell

What a match the big West Indian had. He was on top of his game against SRH and he retained his tag of being one of the best finishers in T20 cricket at the moment. He took KKR over the line from the jaws of a defeat.

Russell is indispensable to KKR for his all-round abilities. He picked up two wickets in the first innings and was brilliant at the death. He got a well set Warner out as he was caught at cover by Uthappa and his second wicket was of Yusuf Pathan. His figures read 2 for 32 in 3 overs.

The West Indian stole the show while chasing, scoring a brilliant 19-ball 49. SRH had the upper hand in the game until Russell decided to free his arm and he won KKR the game almost singlehandedly.

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#2 Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana opened the batting after Sunil Narine injured his finger in the first innings. Rana was brilliant for KKR at the top as he steadied the innings alongside Uthappa and never let the scoring rate down.

Rana opened the batting for the first time in his IPL career and boy did he play very well. He played the role of a sheet anchor, and allowed the likes of Russell and Uthappa to do the big hitting. He ended up scoring 68 runs from 47 balls, which had eight fours and three sixes in it.

#3 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa

KKR lost an early wicket in the form of Chris Lynn and the home side wanted a big partnership as they were chasing a score in excess of 180. Uthappa arrived, and he alongside Rana stitched a wonderful partnership of 80 runs. Uthappa used all his experience and made it look easy in the middle. He scored 35 runs off 27 balls, which included three fours and a six.

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