IPL 2018: 3 memorable clashes between KKR and SRH at Eden Gardens

#1 Yusuf Pathan’s 72 off 22 bulldozes Sunrisers Hyderabad in an epic encounter – 2014

This game would haunt Sunrisers Hyderabad fans for a long time. Before the game started, Hyderabad were already out of the tournament. Kolkata, on the other hand, had qualified for the playoffs but to achieve the top spot and get 2 chances to make the final, they needed to win by 39 runs batting first or achieve the target in 15.2 overs batting second.

Fortunately for them, they won the toss and elected to field first as chasing was their strength. The decision to field first paid off as they got the wicket of David Warner in the second ball of the innings bowled by Morne Morkel. Naman Ojha looked scratchy in his 23 ball 26 before skying one off the bowling of Ryan ten Doeschate. They suffered a major setback when Shikhar Dhawan was run out for 29. At this juncture, Sunrisers were 3-89 in 12.2 overs with the skipper Darren Sammy and Venugopal Rao at the crease.

Venugopal Rao and Sammy rotated the strike for a brief period but their partnership came to an end when Rao was run-out for 27 trying to steal a non-existent second run. With 5 overs remaining, Sammy struck few lusty blows to help his team reach a decent total of 160/7 in 20 overs.

This meant Kolkata needed to chase down the target in 15.2 overs to achieve the top spot.

Kolkata started the innings with a bang, scoring at 10 per over right from the word go, taking on the likes of Dale Steyn, Bhuvneswar Kumar and Jason Holder. Gambhir was the first to be dismissed in the 5th over with the score at 43, followed by Manish Pandey in the 8th over. Robin Uthappa kept scoring runs at a brisk pace before handing a catch to Jason Holder off the bowling of leggie Karn Sharma for a well made 41 off 30 deliveries.

84 runs were still required in 36 deliveries for KKR to achieve the top spot. Ryan ten Doeschate was then run out attempting to steal a single. Yusuf Pathan strode out to the crease to partner Shakib-al-Hasan.

In the 11th over, he smashed the off spinner Parvez Rasool for 2 sixes and 2 fours. Adding insult to injury, Dale Steyn dropped a catch at deep square leg, which went for a six.

In the 12th over, Karn Sharma dismissed Shakib but not before he was clobbered for 2 sixes by Yusuf who took his personal score to 40 off 13 deliveries.

In the 13th over, Yusuf showed his breathtaking hitting ability by bludgeoning Steyn for 26 runs in the over. There was no respect shown for the world’s best bowler as he was smashed for 2 sixes and 3 fours in the over. This was the most expensive over for Steyn in the history of the IPL.

19 were required off 14 balls and Karn Sharma was given the ball to pickup wickets. He picked up the wicket of Pathan but not before conceding a six and four off the first 4 balls of the over.

7 runs were required off 8 balls and it was a mere formality as Suryakumar Yadav smashed a six, followed by a wide off the bowling of Bhuvneswar Kumar to complete a famous victory and a spot in the Top 2 for the play-offs.

For his breathtaking knock, Yusuf Pathan was awarded the Man of the Match.