IPL 10, Match 14, KKR v SRH - Kolkata Knight Riders Player Ratings

The Kolkata Knight Riders played their second game of the season when they hosted the Sunrisers Hyderabad at Kolkata. The hosts were high on confidence after having won their first home game of the season recently. On the other hand, the Sunrisers had a bit of a hiccup recently. After having won their first two matches of the season, they lost their third match against the Mumbai Indians in their previous encounter.

SRH skipper David Warner won the toss and opted to field first. Kolkata Knight Riders openers could not do much on the day with both Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine perishing cheaply. It was a magnificent middle order partnership between Robin Uthapa and Manish Pandey that set the tone for a decent total on the board. A gutsy 68 from Uthappad and Pandey’s 46 combined with Yusuf Pathan’s quick 21 helped KKR post 172/6 in their 20 overs.

The Sunrisers openers got starts but could not make it big on the day. In the middle order, Yuvraj Singh got into the twenties as well but that was never enough for SRH to win the game. They lost by 17 runs as Kolkata Knight Riders registered yet another win at their home venue. Here are the Player Ratings of Kolkata Knight Riders for the KKR v SRH encounter:

Gautam Gambhir – 4/10

Gautam Gambhir continued to have a strong hold on the Orange Cap. He came in to the match riding on a brilliant unbeaten knock in the previous match. He had a quiet day at the office with the bat but ensured he stayed at the crease for the first couple of overs at least. He scored 15 off 16 balls at the top order. His knock saw him strike two fours during his stay at the crease. In the captaincy department too, he was very impressive. He shuffled his bowlers very well and that saw KKR have a strangle hold in the second innings.

Sunil Narine – 7/10

Narine found his place at the opening slot yet again. He had blown away the opposition in the previous match by hitting a crisp knock in the powerplay. On the day, he threatened for a short while yet again when he hit a four first up. However, he could not continue for long and was dismissed for a single digit score.

However, his outing with the ball was excellent. After all, he is in the lineup for his bowling might. He bowled his full quota of 4 overs and gave just 18 runs. He picked one wicket in his spell. Bowling in tandem with Kuldeep Yadav, Narine put a brake on the SRH run flow.

Robin Uthappa – 8.5/10

Robin Uthappa has conventionally seen him play the top order in the Kolkata Knight Riders lineup. This year saw a little change in his role. The team needed him in the middle order and he has started responding at that position as well. Uthappa was rewarded for his superlative knock on the day. He was awarded the Player of the Match.

Coming in at number 3, he scored a brilliant 68 off just 39 balls with 5 fours and 4 towering sixes to his name. His contribution in the middle order along with Manish Pandey set the base for  the KKR innings. His good run of form is big positive for the two time champions.

Manish Pandey – 8/10

The knock from Uthappa was very well supported by the one from Manish Pandey. Manish has been the most consistent batsman for the Knight Riders in this season so far. He continued with his merry run with the bat in the match. Coming in at the crucial number 4 position, Pandey amassed 46 runs off just 35 balls.

The knock was studded with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Batting with Uthappa, the two batsmen added 77 runs for the third wicket in the match. He was dismissed towards the end of the innings in his attempt to accelerate some more. Pandey is turning out to be the star batsman for the KKR roster.

Suryakumar Yadav – 1/10

In the last couple of matches, there were talks about Suryakumar Yadav not getting his share of time at the crease. Well, he got his opportunity on the day but failed miserably. He scored just 4 runs with the bat despite having quite some time at his disposal. He had the license of going all guns blazing when he walked out to bat but ended up with a single digit score. Yadav certainly had a very lackluster day with the bat on the day.

Yusuf Pathan – 7/10

Along with Surya Kumar Yadav, if there was another batsman who had been largely unused this season, then it was Yusuf Pathan. Yusuf got his chance in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He made the most out of the opportunity that beckoned his way. He hit a six and a four en route his unbeaten 15-ball 21.

His late hitting saw Kolkata end up with 172/6 in the match. Later in the match, he was handed the ball too. He responded in fine fashion by picking up a wicket in the only over that he bowled. He got the big wicket of Shikhar Dhawan on the day. He gave just 2 runs in the solitary over that he bowled.

Colin de Grandhomme – 1/10

The Kiwi all-rounder had made a very impressive start to his IPL career. He was drafted in the team at the expense of Chris Lynn in the previous match. He saw himself being retained in the side riding on a decent start he had in the previous match. His services on the day were very limited. The bowling department did not require his inputs. With the bat, he lasted just two deliveries and failed to get a run on the board. Colin would hope that the fortunes change in the following matches. He needs to make the most out of the limited opportunities that he is getting.

Chris Woakes – 3/10

Chris Woakes had his best day with the day today, considering the number of wickets that he picked. However, he could not control the run flow. He leaked runs at will that saw the Kolkata Knight Riders lose the plot for a brief while. In the 4 overs that he bowled today, he gave as many as 29 runs.

He was the most expensive bowler for his side on the day. He managed to take 2 wickets. He dismissed Moises Henriques by taking a stunning reflex catch. Later, he got the big fish of the SRH camp – Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj was looking threatening with the bat and Woakes did well to have the last laugh against him.

Kuldeep Yadav – 7/10

Kuldeep Yadav had a very impressive day with the ball. Kuldeep was brought in the team at the expense of leg spinner Piyush Chawla. Skipper Gautam Gambhir rightly pointed in the post match press conference that many batsmen still find it tough to pick Kuldeep Yadav.

This has been working very well for the Knight Riders. In the 4 overs that he bowled today, he gave away just 23 runs. He ended up with a wickeet to his name as well. The wicket was perhaps the most prized scalp of the match – David Warner.

Trent Boult – 4/10

Prior to commencement of the tournament, the KKR camp was confident of seeing Trent Boult at his very best this season. But the case has not been the way they had expected it to be. Boult has turned out to be very expensive deal for the team in the previous two matches. On the day, he was expensive yet again. In the four overs that he bowled, he gave away 32 runs at an economy of 8 per over. The silver lining is the fact that he leaked runs at a lower economy rate today. He also picked up a wicket in the match.

Umesh Yadav – 3/10

Umesh Yadav had a dream start to the season. He played his first game when he turned up for the Knight Riders in the previous. He had finished with 4 wickets to his name. Against the Sunrisers, the Indian pacer failed to pick up a wicket. In the three overs that he bowled today, he went for 27 runs. He could not pose any threat with the new ball either.