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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) began their IPL 2021 campaign on an impressive note, getting the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by ten runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Sent into bat by SRH, KKR posted a challenging total of 188 for 6 on the board, thanks to Nitish Rana’s 56-ball 80 and Rahul Tripathi’s smashing 53 off 29.
SRH’s chase got off to a dramatic start. Harbhajan Singh was given the first over in his first game for KKR. He almost struck immediately, getting SRH captain David Warner to edge a loppy delivery to Pat Cummins at point, only for the latter to drop a sitter. To add insult to injury, Wriddhiman Saha launched the spinner over an extra cover boundary for a six.
Both Warner and Saha did not last long, though. The SRH captain was caught behind for three off a sharp, rising delivery from the ever-improving Prasidh Krishna. Saha (7) then chopped Shakib Al Hasan onto his stumps, looking to cut one that skidded on.
Jonny Bairstow (55 off 40) and Manish Pandey (61 not out of 44) kept SRH in the hunt with an enterprising third-wicket stand of 92. Bairstow got into big-hitting mode by lofting Shakib al Hasan inside out for a maximum in the fifth over. In the left-arm spinner's next over, Pandey joined the party, hitting a six over the bowler's head.
Andre Russell’s first over went for 15, the highlight of which was a powerful pull to midwicket by Bairstow for a six. The in-form England batsman brought up his fifty off 32 balls by swatting Varun Chakravarthy over midwicket for another maximum.
Just as SRH were getting into a decent position in their chase, Bairstow fell, slashing KKR’s pace spearhead Pat Cummins straight to Nitish Rana at backward point.
Pandey kept the fight alive for SRH, lofting a long hop from Shakib Al Hasan over square leg for his second six. Abdul Samad came in and clubbed Cummins for two sixes in the penultimate over. In the end, though, the chase fizzled out, as SRH were left with too much to do.
Nitish Rana’s sizzling 80 takes KKR to 187/6
Nitish Rana played a blazing knock of 80 off 56 balls as KKR posted 187 for 6 after being sent into bat by SRH in their IPL 2021 opener. Rana was the dominant partner in an opening-wicket stand of 53 with Shubman Gill that lasted exactly seven overs.
Gill (15 off 13) perished in SRH leg-spinner Rashid Khan’s first over. He tried to heave a googly but had his stumps pegged back. Rana and Rahul Tripathi (53 off 29), however, did not give SRH any reason to celebrate after that. They featured in a sizzling second-wicket stand of 93 as KKR completely dominated proceedings.
The very first ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar was caressed by Rana between extra cover and mid-off for a four. The left-hander was severe on Sandeep Sharma, hitting the pacer for three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over - the first two drilled in front of the stumps and the third behind with a smart shuffle.
Rana raced to his fifty in style, pulling a short one from Vijay Shankar to deep backward square for a maximum. In the next over from T Natarajan, he picked another six with a short-arm pull over fine leg. A couple of balls later, Rana slog-swept Mohammad Nabi for his third six as KKR’s innings went into overdrive.
Tripathi matched Rana stroke for stroke in the partnership as KKR started firing from both ends. The second ball Tripathi faced from Nabi was drilled over long-off for a maximum with disdain.
Rahul Tripathi also launched Rashid Khan over his head for a four. When Bhuvneshwar Kumar came back for his second spell, the KKR batsman clubbed the India international over square leg for a maximum.
Two more fours came off the over. The first one was smartly sliced between keeper and short third man. The next one was an outside edge that flew between backward point and short third man. The second stroke brought up his fifty off 28 balls.
The batsman perished soon, though, slicing a slower one from Natarajan straight up in the air. The ball popped out of Wriddhiman Saha’s gloves, who took it on the second attempt.
Tripathi’s wicket led to a mini-collapse. Andre Russell (5) tried to take on Rashid Khan early in his innings but only managed to hit the ball as far as long-on, where Manish Pandey took a smart catch at the boundary after an initial misjudgement.
Rana and KKR captain Eoin Morgan (2) fell to Nabi off consecutive balls as SRH fought back. However, a cameo of 22 not out off nine balls by Dinesh Karthik saw KKR seize the advantage again.
For SRH, Rashid Khan was their best bowler with 2 for 24, while the other Afghan spinner, Nabi, finished with 2 for 32. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1 for 45) and Sandeep Sharma (0 for 35 off three overs) proved expensive.
IPL 2021: SRH v KKR - Man of the match
There were many impressive performances in the match. Rana was the standout performer of the day with his blazing 80. He set the tone of the innings with some positive strokes and never allowed the momentum to drop.
Tripathi chipped in with a brilliant half-century too. After Gill’s dismissal, KKR needed someone to stay with Rana. Tripathi not only gave Rana good company but played some audacious strokes to keep KKR ahead in the game. With the ball, Prasidh Krishna stood out for KKR, sending back Warner and Nabi.
Rashid Khan was brilliant with the ball for SRH. He claimed the big wickets of Gill and Russell and conceded only 24. Pandey and Bairstow chipped in with half-centuries, but their efforts went in vain.
Eventually, Nitish Rana was named the Man of the Match for his excellent knock that set up his team's win.
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