As Kolkata Knight Riders managed to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad in an unlikely victory, just their fourth in 10 games this season, Varun Chakravarthy bowled over 16, 18, and 20 for 12 runs, four of them off byes and leg byes, and one wicket. After the loss, SRH’s record of three victories in six games was exactly the same as KKR’s before the game. Both teams were still in must-win situations.
When Heinrich Klaasen took the lead at the beginning of the second half of the chase, SRH’s pursuit of 172 appeared to be a walk in the park. Klaasen was bowled by Shardul Thakur’s golden arm when they needed 48 runs off the final six overs, and Varun choked SRH with the assistance of Vaibhav Arora, who took the wicket of Aiden Markram.
Thakur inspires, Varun executes
When Thakur came back in, he once more added the golden touch. This length ball appeared to be on-pace and in the slot to begin the 15th over, but it was actually a rapid cutter that Klaasen toe-ended to long-on. After a sluggish start, Markram, who was still in control of SRH, had advanced to a run-a-ball strategy. Two barriers that Thakur crossed over helped SRH to relax.
Varun, however, snuffed out their innings. He bowled into the pitch while bowling around the wicket to prevent them from getting any hits down the ground. He also didn’t provide them a speed at which to work.
Markram chose a bouncer who was too high to go after because he felt compelled to fight Vaibhav. He ultimately went out for 41 off 40 after playing long-off. Varun continued to tighten the noose. The 18th over produced no scores. With two overs remaining and 21 needed, Gurbaz made an incredible left-handed catch off Jansen’s inside edge. After Abdul Samad hit a no-ball for four runs on a no-ball, Arora overcame it, leaving Varun with eight to defend in the final over.
Samad, who was 20 off 16 when the over began, ultimately whacked a sluggish, short ball straight to deep midwicket. On the 33 previous instances that Bhuvneshwar Kumar had batted in a chase during the IPL, he had never come out on top; now, with too much to do, he once again lost.
Kolkata Knight Riders 171 for 9 (Rinku 46, N Rana 42, Jansen 2-24, Natarajan 2-30) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 166 for 8 (Markram 41, Klaasen 36, Thakur 2-23, Arora 2-32) by five runs