IPL 2018, SRH vs KKR: 4 Reasons why Hyderabad lost against Kolkata 

The Sunrisers Hyderabad hosted the Kolkata Knight Riders in what was a crucial game in the context of qualification for the playoffs. Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat first. The Sunrisers got off to a great start as Shikhar Dhawan and Shreevats Goswami smashed Kolkata’s attack to all parts of the ground. It was followed by an excellent cameo from the captain Kane Williamson.

The Sunrisers looked set to score in excess of 190 but a lower order collapse ensured that they could only post 172 runs on the board. In reply, Kolkata got off to a dream start as Sunil Narine blasted 29 runs off just 10 balls.

It was followed by an excellent attacking partnership between Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa which got KKR closer to the target. The finishing work was done by the captain Dinesh Karthik as Kolkata eased home with 2 balls to spare. Let us have a look at the reasons why Sunrisers lost the contest.

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#1 Middle order collapse

Sunrisers got off to a strong start as Shikhar Dhawan and Shreevats Goswami put on 79 runs for the first wicket in just 9 overs. Their good work was continued by the captain Kane Williamson who continued in his rich vein of form.

The scorecard read 127/2 at the end of 13 overs when Williamson departed. Hyderabad looked set to score in excess of 190 but an extraordinary collapse in the death overs ensured that they could only manage to score 172 runs off their allotted overs.

Manish Pandey struggled once again, while the big-hitting Carlos Braithwaite and Yusuf Pathan did not trouble the scorers much. All the hard work done at the top was undone by some poor batting by the middle order.

#2 Excellent death bowling by KKR

Kolkata’s bowlers seemed to have an off day as Hyderabad’s top order plundered runs at the start of the innings. Andre Russell was smashed for 16 runs of his first over. Also, the spin of Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav did not trouble Hyderabad’s batsmen much. However, KKR’s bowlers staged a remarkable comeback after the 13th over.

Prasidh Krishna conceded just 5 runs off the 16th over and picked up the all-important wicket of Shikhar Dhawan. Krishna excelled in the last over of the innings as well, picking up 3 wickets and conceding just 4 runs.

Andre Russell too made a strong comeback by giving away just 7 runs and picking up the wicket of Carlos Braithwaite in the penultimate over. Just 44 runs came off the last 7 overs as Kolkata’s bowlers choked the middle order of Hyderabad.

#3 Top order comes up good for KKR

Batting first, Hyderabad posted a competitive score of 172 runs on the board. The Sunrisers’s bowling attack is easily the best in the business so chasing 173 was a difficult job for KKR but their top order rose up to the occasion.

Sunil Narine got them off to a flying start as he smashed 29 runs in quick time as Kolkata brought up their fifty of just 21 balls. His good work was continued by the duo of Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa.

They added 67 runs for the second wicket and negated Hyderabad’s spin threat. Lynn made 55 runs of 43 balls. He was ably supported from the other end by Robin Uthappa who made a quickfire 45 and inched Kolkata closer to the target.

#4 Big stars have an off day with the ball

Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shakib-al-Hasan form the spine of Hyderabad’s attack. Not only can they slow down the run rate but are also capable of providing the crucial breakthroughs.

However, all three had an off day today as they picked up just one wicket between themselves and went for 94 runs of their combined 11 overs. Rashid Khan was smashed for 15 runs in the 16th over when the match was nicely poised.

Shakib could not come up with the goods today as he went for 30 runs of his 3 overs. With the playoffs approaching, the Sunrisers’s fans would be hoping that these three can get their act together in time.