IPL 10, Eliminator, KKR v SRH – Kolkata Knight Riders Player Ratings

Kolkata Knight Riders progressed ahead and are set to play the 2nd Qualifier to be held in Bengaluru on Friday after winning a rain-curtailed encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The final runs were knocked off at 1:27 AM when Ishank Jaggi and Gautam Gambhir scampered through for a single in the last over to win the game by 7 wickets.

A target of 48 off 6 overs was considered a walk in the park but Sunrisers Hyderabad made sure that KKR had to work hard to get those runs. They picked three early wickets in the first two overs to rock KKR’s straightforward chase. It was Gambhir’s calm and finesse which had the final say in front of a few spectators who braved the rain break to stay back for the 6-over chase. Shah Rukh Khan, the team owner of KKR, was one of the spectators who were present when the last runs were knocked off.

Gambhir won the toss and put SRH in on a slow wicket. Sunrisers struggled to get going and even Warner could not time the ball as they were off to a sluggish start. A few hits from Vijay Shankar and Naman Ojha at the end ensured that the defending champions score went past the 120-run mark. It was certainly not enough against a decent batting line up of KKR but they had something to bowl at. Before the final two balls of the first innings got delivered, the rain had already arrived. The players went off for the innings break and hoped that the rain would stop in the meanwhile but it continued to rain for a couple of hours, intermittently.

The rain stopped just in time for a 6-over game in which KKR strode to a victory. They will now take on Mumbai Indians at the same venue tomorrow night. We bring you to the player ratings of 2-time champions KKR:

Robin Uthappa – 3/10

Uthappa was sent to open the innings for the first time this year as Gambhir did not want to take a chance even in a small chase. He wanted to get done with it as quickly as possible as there was still a rain threat looming over Bengaluru. Uthappa found the fielder on the square leg boundary when he tried to pull a skiddy Jordan delivery. He took a smart catch early to send Dhawan back early in SRH’s innings. The 31-year old was very chirpy behind the stumps, motivating his fellow teammates during their bowling innings.

Chris Lynn – 2/10

Lynn hit the first ball he faced for a six over point. He meant business and wanted to finish the chase early. But he was sent back the next ball by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bring some interest in the otherwise one-sided chase. Since his injury, he has been fielding in the circle, where he took a catch off the last ball of KKR’s innings.

Yusuf Pathan – 2/10

Pathan faced just the solitary delivery on which he got run out. Sent in to bat at No. 3, Pathan was hit on the pads by Bhuvneshwar. The 34-year old wasn’t aware of where the ball had gone and set off for a run before realising that the ball hadn’t gone too far away from the square. Bhuvi came in and hit the stumps as Pathan was short by a couple of inches. Pathan bowled one over where he conceded just 7 runs.

Gautam Gambhir – 9.5/10

Gambhir walked out to bat at No. 4 today with his side in all sorts of trouble. He steadied the ship and then cut loose to make sure KKR win the game with 4 balls to spare. His 19-ball 32* was as good a innings he has played this season. he was composed and made sure the job was done with him being out in the centre.

Ishank Jaggi – 6/10

Jaggi played his first game of the season and gave company to his skipper until the end. Coming in to bat at 12/3, Jaggi showed good application by staying out there and not looking to go for glory like his other teammates did. He also happened to hit the final runs of the chase.

Suryakumar Yadav – 5/10

Yadav did not get to bat in this game but he took two catches in Sunrisers Hyderabad innings. A very safe fielder, Yadav mostly is a boundary rider and that is where he pulled off two straightforward catches today.

Sunil Narine – 7/10

Narine did not open the innings today for KKR but played a decisive role with the ball. Though he did not pick any wickets, his tidy spell of 0/20 from four overs ensured that the Sunrisers Hyderabad do not get any freebies in the middle overs. Narine bowled the last over of the Powerplay and conceded just 3 runs.

Piyush Chawla – 5.5/10

Playing in his only fifth game this year, Chawla had the job of tackling Warner. A leg-spinner does not fancy his chances against a left-hander but Chawla stuck to his task. He relied on bowling googlies to Warner, one off which was dispatched over the mid-wicket fence for a massive six as it did not come out right from the leggies hand. Chawla had the last laugh as he picked the wicket of Warner, off another googly but this time fuller which rattled the stumps.

Umesh Yadav – 8.5/10

Umesh had a great game returning with figures of 2/21. He got Yuvraj’s wicket at a crucial juncture of the game. Umesh also got the initial breakthrough when he sent Dhawan back. The fast bowler bowled disciplined lines and got the rewards in this crucial encounter.

Nathan Coulter-Nile – 9/10

Coulter-Nile was the Man of the Match for his 3/20. Coming back from injury in a knockout game is never easy but the Australian was equal to the task. He bowled in the middle overs and picked wickets at the right time to dent SRH’s chances of getting a defending total. His return catch of Chris Jordan was one of the best catches taken this year.

Trent Boult – 5.5/10

The Kiwi bowler bowled well but was hit for runs during the end overs. He gave away just 11 runs in his first two overs bowling against Dhawan and Warner. Boult went for 19 runs in his last two overs but picked a wicket off the last ball.