Out of nowhere, Sunrisers Hyderabad crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs under the lights at Eden Gardens. Right from the first over, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma tore through the attack with an 82-run stand up front. Because there was no clear strategy, the home bowlers looked lost early on. Then came a bold move – captain Ajinkya Rahane tossed the ball to Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy much sooner than expected. Still, nothing worked; the momentum never shifted away from Hyderabad.
Leaving Anukul Roy out of the powerplay felt off. That move backfired, even though his role looked clear later. Two overs were all he got – tight work, only 16 runs given up. His economy stood tall among Kolkata’s bowlers. Middle overs slipped away without grip. Heinrich Klaasen started finding gaps, then Nitish Kumar Reddy joined in rhythm. Their stand built a mountain: 82 runs feeding into a total of 226. Sunrisers closed the first innings there.
Finn Allen gave KKR a flying start before bowing out on 28 off just seven deliveries. Soon after, their campaign stumbled when Rahane and Green both fell without leaving a mark. Not long into it, Rinku Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi showed promise at the crease yet couldn’t stay till the finish line. Collapse followed collapse, much like dominoes tapped lightly one by one. In the end, they were brushed aside by 65 runs.
Rahane blames lack of partnership
Rahane pointed out what went wrong once the match ended – partnerships never formed. Midway through, things looked grim when Hyderabad threatened to near 260. Then came a shift, though, thanks to the bowlers who steadied after stumbling early.
Sure, I figured things had slipped away early on when those established players pushed hard at the death. They looked settled, aiming to build through the middle. For about seven or eight overs, our comeback felt sharp. Inside ten overs total, their score seemed headed toward 130 or more. Yet our bowling tightened just enough down the stretch. Chasing a total means relying on a strong stand between batters. That never really came through, Rahane mentioned after the game.
It started slow, yet the pitch didn’t really speed up – caught a bit of drag. Still, no complaints here. Our beginning? Strong enough. First half dozen came around fast, near eighty on board. A single wicket cost us momentum. Out went Green, caught between creases. Still, up until then, things had been moving smoothly. The middle phase – that stretch – held the most weight for our plans. What we wanted was a solid stand from batsmen already settled in. That piece never fell into place. Their slow deliveries caused trouble, those angles too; I noticed how sharply they shaped each delivery.
