‘We are still in the hunt’: Fans delighted as Kolkata keep their playoffs hope alive with a convincing win against Hyderabad
Tim Southee (Image Source: BCCI/IPL)
The 61st match of the Indian T20 League 2022 saw Kolkata take the field against Hyderabad. The venue for the match was the MCA Stadium in Pune. On a pitch that had a fair bit of assistance for the bowlers, the fans were treated to a convincing performance by one of the teams.
Kolkata won the toss and decided to bat first. They lost Venkatesh Iyer (7 of 6) early in the innings. Nitish Rana was sent in at number three and along with Ajinkya Rahane, he steadied the ship for the Men in Purple. They stitched a partnership of 48 runs off 33 balls. The partnership was broken in the 8th over as Nitish Rana (26 of 16) walked back to the pavilion. After this, the Kolkata innings experienced a mini-collapse. They lost the next three wickets for just 29 runs and were struggling at 94 for 5 in the 12th over. Andre Russell walked in at this stage. Russell and Billings staged a comeback for Kolkata. They put up a partnership of 63 runs from 44 balls. It was the dismissal of Billings (34 of 29) by Bhuvneswar Kumar that broke the partnership.
Sam Billings walked back to the hut in the 19th over of the innings. At 157 for 6 it looked like Kolkata will reach a par total. But Andre Russell had other ideas. He slammed 20 runs off the last over hitting three sixes off Washington Sundar. He remained unbeaten on 49 off 28 balls and helped Kolkata to a total of 177 runs from their 20 overs. Umran Malik found his rhythm in the match and picked up three wickets for 33 runs form his 4 overs. He was the pick of the bowlers for the Men in Orange.
Hyderabad batter found it tough to get going from the very beginning of the innings. Kane Williamson (9 of 17) once again failed to leave any impact on the match. He was the first wicket to fall for Hyderabad in the sixth over, while the team’s score was 30. Rahul Tripathi (9 of 12) also did not last long and Hyderabad’s chase was falling apart at 54 for 2 in the ninth over. However, Abhishek Sharma was batting on a completely different wicket and was taking on the Kolkata bowlers with ease. His presence in the middle along with Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran’s form held the key for Hyderabad. As the 10th over of the innings concluded Hyderabad was 66 for 2 down, and need 112 runs to win the match off 60 balls.
Varun Chakravarthy removed the dangerous looking Abhishek Sharma (43 off 28) in the 12th over. After this the chase never came back on track for Hyderabad. Aiden Markram (32 of 25), the only batter who could have take Hyderabad after Sharma’s departure was castled by Umesh Yadav in the 15th over. With 78 runs needed of 30 balls and the main batters back in the hut chances of Hyderabad winning the match were very slim. They kept loosing wickets after this and Kolkata grabbed a convincing win. Hyderabad was ultimately restricted to 123 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Kolkata won the match by 54 runs and kept their hopes of making it to the playoffs alive. The pick of the bowlers for Kolkata was Andre Russell picking up 3 wickets for 22 runs from his 4 overs. This was Kolkata’s sixth win in 13 matches while Hyderabad lost their 7th match in 12 outings.
Here is how Twitter reacted on the match.
Andre Russell once again doing it for KKR. What a star he is.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 14, 2022
Push him when does well, Back him when he doesn’t. He is still young but with tons of potential. well done my boy #UmranMalik
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1525507115607277568?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
Kane Williamson generally a good captain but second time he is keeping a spinner against Russell in the last over.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 14, 2022
Kane Williamson ko hua kya hai? Can’t see him like this #KKRvSRH
— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) May 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/thebharatarmy/status/1525498964547473409?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
Kane Williamson dismissed! Wastes 17 precious Powerplay deliveries again. This has been his problem throughout this season.#KKRvSRH
— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) May 14, 2022
Williamson is such a bad captain, he keeps sending Williamson, the batsman, to open even at this stage of the tournament.
— Krishna Kumar (@KrishnaKRM) May 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/ReemaMalhotra8/status/1525526052822745099?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
https://twitter.com/Sportskeeda/status/1525524635030196225?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
Srh has the worst batting lineup in this ipl..pathetic #KKRvSRH
— djjjjjjjjjjj (@djjjj777) May 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/KKRiders/status/1525530418715406336?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
SRH going down like a lead balloon. Shashank Singh goes for 11.#KKRvsSRH #IPL2022
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 14, 2022
Good toss to win backed by excellent batting and bowling. KKR keep hopes of a place in play-offs alive. SRH disappointing in such a crucial match. Failed to keep KKR to a modest score and batted so poorly as to never be in the hunt. Gr8 game for Russell. My MOM for sure
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/KKRiders/status/1525530418715406336?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
https://twitter.com/i_Prathit/status/1525533205096693760?s=20&t=dxTBWdb_suCaureRzDOsNg
5 consecutive losses for Sunrisers now after 5 consecutive wins!#KKRvSRH #SRHvsKKR #IPL2022
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) May 14, 2022
