Qualifier 2, KKR vs SRH: 4 Reasons why Kolkata lost to Hyderabad 

The Sunrisers Hyderabad took on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2nd Qualifier today at the Eden Gardens. The Sunrisers were looking to turn their fortunes around after a string of losses while the home side had been in good form and was confident of another good showing.

Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field first. Hyderabad got off to a good start as the openers put on 56 runs for the first wicket. However, a middle order slows down pegged things back as the KKR’s spinners exercised total control. It took an unlikely cameo from Rashid Khan to power Hyderabad to a score of 174 runs from their allotted overs.

In reply, Kolkata got off to a good start as both Narine and Lynn got some big hits going. However, Rashid Khan had some other plans as he continued his good work with the ball and picked up the wickets of Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, and Andre Russell. Shubhman Gill tried his best at the end but his valiant knock was not good enough for the Knight Riders as they fell short of the target by 13 runs.

Let us have a look at 4 reasons why Kolkata lost the contest.

---

#1 Rashid khan’s vital cameo

Rashid Khan came into bat when the score was just 134 and only 13 deliveries were left. Rashid knew that in order to stay competitive in the game, Sunrisers needed a score in the range of 160-170.

He began with a thick outside edge that flew past Dinesh Karthik to the boundary. In the next over, he carved out Shivam Mavi for 2 sixes through the cover-point region. He wasn’t done there as he then smashed 22 runs of the last over bowled by Prasidh Krishna. His 10 ball 34 shifted the momentum of the match completely and gave the Sunrisers a big chance to move into the finals.

#2 Prasidh Krishna’s off day

Prasidh Krishna has had a tremendous beginning to his IPL career. Dinesh Karthik has been so impressed with his death bowling skills that he saves his 2 overs for the end. However, the young Karnataka lad had a forgetful day with the ball as he was smashed for 56 runs of his 4 overs.

Krishna just could not hold his nerve at the end and taken to the cleaners by Rashid Khan. He missed his length at the death and Rashid Khan took full toll on it. 37 runs came from his last 2 overs which proved decisive in the context of the game.

#3 Middle order falls apart

The top order gave an excellent start to the Kolkata Knight riders as both Lynn and Narine struck some big blows at the start of the innings. The scorecard read 87/2 in 8.3 overs when Nitish Rana fell. KKR needed 88 runs at a very achievable 8 runs per over. But their middle order just could not stand up to Hyderabad’s spinners.

Robin Uthappa had a second failure on the trot as he tried to reverse sweep Rashid and lost his leg pole. Dinesh Karthik who had been the go-to batsmen for the Knight Riders this season failed today, trying to cut Shakib-Al-Hasan. The big Jamaican Andre Russell could not repeat his heroics from the last game and made only 3 runs. This collective failure from the middle order cost Kolkata big.

#4 Sunriser’s spinners have a field day

Kolkata got off to a strong start courtesy same big hitting at the top. Hyderabad needed their trump card, Rashid Khan, to get some wickets in the middle overs and the Afghan did not let them down. He started off with a peach of an over in which he gave away just 3 runs. In his next over, he got Hyderabad back in the game by dismissing Robin Uthappa. He trapped Chris Lynn in front of the stumps in his next over. In his last over, Rashid got Andre Russell caught at in the slips. His magical spell was responsible for taking the Sunrisers into the final. Khan got good support from Shakib from the other end who gave away just 16 runs from his 3 overs and picked up the crucial wicket of Dinesh Karthik.