Published: May 18, 2017, 08:10 AM (IST)
Edited: May 18, 2017, 11:47 PM (IST)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) qualified for Qualifier 2 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017, after walloping Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Eliminator at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. For taking 3 for 21, Nathan Coulter-Nile was awarded Man of the Match. However, it was Gautam Gambhir‘s heroics under pressure that took KKR to a well-deserved victory. This was KKR’s first win in an IPL Eliminator. They will now take Mumbai Indians at the same venue. The winner of the Qualifier 2 will play Rising Pune Supergiant in the final at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Let us walk through the top highlights of this crackerjack of a contest. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), IPL 2017 Playoffs, Eliminator at Bengaluru
Warner scales a new high: David Warner became the first foreigner to complete 4,000 runs in IPL. Not only that, he also became the fastest to reach the milestone, transcending the likes of Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Gautam Gambhir. Warner attained the feat in his 114th match.
The classy Williamson: Williamson hit only 3 boundaries, but oozed elegance and finesse everyone he eased the ball through gaps. He made room and guided Yusuf Pathan’s off-spinner past extra-cover to collect his first four. He shuffled across to score the remaining two boundaries: first one through mid-wicket and second over deep square-leg. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), IPL 2017 Playoffs, Eliminator at Bengaluru
Yuvraj almost kills the non-striker: Yuvraj Singh swatted Piyush Chawla’s full-pitched delivery just over non-striker Vijay Shankar’s head. Shankar, for that matter, did well to react in a fraction of a second to avoid a mishap.
Umesh continues bowling in the right channel: Umesh Yadav started off with Test-match length with the new ball. Hitting corridor of uncertainty, Umesh produced a few rippers beating Warner’s outside edge. His disciplined paid off, as Shikhar Dhawan skied one to gift Umesh his first wicket. Umesh then removed Yuvraj in his last over, off a short ball.
Coulter-Nile joins the act: Nathan Coulter-Nile followed Umesh’s footsteps and maintained tight line and length. He finished with figures of 4-0-20-3. He got the better of Williamson, Vijay Shankar, and Chris Jordon. He was rewarded with the Man of the Match award. He also took a blinder off his own bowling.
Narine does what he does best: Sunil Narine has made headlines more with his batting than bowling this season. He may have taken a mere 10 wickets in 15 matches, but he often managed to keep a lid on the runs. In this match, Narine conceded only 20 runs off his 4-over quota.
Fourth shortest innings: After the match was reduced to 6 overs due to rain, KKR achieved a new feat. They completed the 48-run chase in 5.2 overs, fourth shortest in IPL.
Shortest innings in #IPL history#SRH 26 balls in vDD 14#DD 29 balls in vKXIP 09#KKR 30 balls vRPS in 16#KKR 32 balls vSRH in 17#SRHvKKR
— Abhishek Kumar (@abhik2593) May 17, 2017
Eventful first over: Chris Lynn smote a six off the very first ball he faced. However, the respite did not last long. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had him caught-behind the next ball. To up the ante, KKR sent Yusuf Pathan at No. 3, ahead of Gambhir. The belligerent batsman, for that matter, failed to repay the faith shown in him and got run out off the first ball. Gambhir joined Robin Uthappa and ended the over with a four. The over produced 2 wickets and 11 runs.
The Gambhir special: Gambhir led from the front when the team was at a crucial juncture. Mind you, had the match been washed out, SRH would have been through to Qualifier 2. Be that as it may. The rains gods smiled upon KKR and gave an opportunity for Gambhir to finish things off in style. Of KKR’s 48 runs, Gambhir took charge and scored 32 including 2 fours and as many sixes.
