SunRisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets with 5 overs to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad in the first of two Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on Sunday. SRH return to the top four with this win, and they also have a game in hand over the other teams. As for KKR, this was their fifth consecutive defeat and their campaign is now in tatters. David Warner (67 off 38 balls) and Jonny Bairstow (80* off 43) put on their fourth 100+ stand of the season to thrash KKR. No KKR bowler was spared by the duo, but Sunil Narine (0/34 in 4 overs) and debutant Prithvi Raj Yarra (1/29 in 3 overs) were the bright spots for the visiting team. Being put into bat first, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 159/8 in their 20 overs. Sunil Narine (25 off 8 balls) launched an onslaught to give the visitors a great start, but eventually fell to Khaleel Ahmed (3/33), who also soon accounted for the wicket of Shubman Gill. He came back into the attack towards the end to also get the wicket of Chris Lynn (51), who played the role of the sheet anchor for KKR. Lynn and Rinku Singh (30 off 25 balls) put up a 51-run partnership in the middle overs. Andre Russell (15) hit two big sixes towards the end but perished in trying to hit a third. Rashid Khan (1/23) had not conceded a single boundary till his last over, and along with Khaleel Ahmed, was the pick of the SRH bowlers. (SCORECARD)
IPL 2019 Highlights Between SunRisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, straight from Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
SRH move to fourth place with this win. They also have a game in hand over the teams on 2nd, 3rd and 4th on the points table. KKR go down to their fifth consecutive defeat. After the brilliant start to the season, their campaign now is in tatters. Thank you for joining us. You can now head over to our live coverage of the second IPL match of the day, being played in Bangalore between RCB and CSK.
Bairstow dropped for the third time this match. Piyush Chawla the fielder. Prithvi Raj Yarra cannot believe his luck. He is on the ground in disbelief. Bairstow must be in disbelief as well.
That reprieve for Bairstow seems to have woken Warner up, who decides he wants to finish this off quickly. 16 runs off Narine's over. SRH need 30 runs to win in 8 overs.
Another 100 stand between these SRH openers. Bairstow nearing his 2nd IPL fifty. Remember, he was dropped on 1 by Cariappa. Warner also nearing the landmark.
The required rate has been brought down to 6 as a result of this onslaught by Warner and Bairstow. KKR captain Dinesh Karthik will be struggling for ideas.
Narine manages to get Warner in trouble with one ball. Ball just misses the off stump though. That was probably the first uncomfortable moment for Warner today.
Piyush Chawla bowled two dot balls to start off but then concedes a boundary. Batsmen not reading Chawla as well as they were reading the seamers though. Could KKR's spin trio be the team's saviour today?
16 runs come off Prithvi Raj's first over in the IPL. SRH 22/0 after 2 overs. How different the score would have read if Cariappa had not dropped that catch.
Costly costly mistake from Cariappa in the deep. Bairstow offered a lifeline there, hit that straight to the fielder, but Cariappa somehow drops that. Could have been such a morale booster for Prithvi Raj too.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kolkata Knight Riders
Andre Russell