IPL 10, Eliminator, Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders - Who Said What

The patient crowd at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru were finally treated to some brilliant brand of cricket in the Eliminator. Albeit the action was very short in terms of length it perspired, it proved to be very entertaining. The Kolkata Knight Riders were up against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the crucial game that had everything only for the winners.

Had there been a washout, the Sunrisers Hyderabad would have advanced to the Qualifier 2 riding on their superior finish in the points table at the conclusion of the league stage. Hence, when the rain gods poured down after the first innings, the Kolkata Knight Riders had their hearts in their mouth for a long time. After two hours of wait, the action finally got underway with KKR getting a revised target of 48 to get in 6 overs. They chased it with 7 wickets in hand.

KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir played a patient unbeaten 32 to ensure his side won by 7 wickets. Earlier in the game, Nathan Coulter-Nile had finished as the pick of the bowlers for KKR as he bagged 3/20 in the SRH innings. SRH skipper David Warner was the pick of the batsmen with a top score of 37 in the match. Williamson chipped in with 24 as Sunrisers could only manage 128/7 in their stipulated 20 overs.

SRH skipper David Warner

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner expressed his disappointment on his defeat. He noted that the wicket was a tricky one to bat on. Also, the fact that they had only 6 overs to bowl later on did not help their cause. He felt that the team had a decent season this year and was happy with the way things worked out for them this season. He thanked the SRH fans for their constant support.

David Warner said: I thought we were 30 runs short. It was a tough wicket to bat on. The wicket was holding up a bit. We got no momentum. They bowled really well. Disappointing wicket, have been talking to other players from RCB. But we fell short with the bat. There’s not much you can talk about . 6 overs game become niggly and the total can be low. We needed to come out with positive intent and we took three wickets upfront. Not enough runs on the board. We were good (in the tournament). We came good towards the end as we did last time. We found some good talent. Key moments in some games could have gone our way. Thanks to all the people in Hyderabad that came out to support us. Without you, we wouldn’t have been here.

KKR Skipper Gautam Gambhir

The KKR skipper was instrumental in keeping a steady head in the short run chase after being 12/3. He credited the bowlers for an exceptional show on the night. He also lauded the efforts of the fielders on the day. Gambhir noted that the team is keen on achieving more and more this season.

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said: I think a lot of credit should go to the bowlers. They set it up for us. For the batters, we just needed to be a bit sensible. There have been times, when we have discussed about intensity. One run stopped, one run less to chase. I thought in the second innings, the ball was coming nicely onto the bat. You do get nervous. We worked really hard to be here. 128 was an unbelievable effort. It would have been unfair for the bowlers. We are hungry. We don’t have a good record against the Mumbai Indians. We want to better that.

Nathan Coulter-Nile

Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile was awarded the Player of the Match for his superlative effort with the ball. He returned with figures of 3/20 in his quota of 4 overs. He talked about the concussion he had a few matches ago. The Aussie speedster talked about the slowness at the Bengaluru track. Also, he believed that the wicket of David Warner set things up for KKR in the match.

Nathan Coulter-Nile said: It is feeling little better as it was a couple of days ago. I never thought it would affect me as much as it did. I am glad it is over now (about the head injury he sustained against RPS). I was so tired and lethargic. Then there were headaches consistently. The wicket is exact opposite to Kolkata. Good pace in Kolkata, here it was slow and low. Thought all the bowlers did really well. PC removed Warner, that I thought was the turning point. He is that kind of a bloke who can turn a 130 into a 150 or 160. That started with the first over. Umesh was great. David Warner playing and missing in the first over gave us belief. It kept raining and raining. The covers kept coming on and off. So, we were getting twitchy. No thoughts just as yet. Just get some sleep and recover for the game against Mumbai.