Inspired by a brilliant bowling effort, the Kolkata Knight Riders defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. With this win, KKR keep their IPL play-offs hopes alive. 

SRH skipper Kane Williamson’s decision to bat first backfired as they lost wickets at regular intervals, failing to counter KKR’s incisive bowling, especially of Tim Southee (2/26) and the spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy (2/26) and Sunil Narine. Captain Williamson top-scored for Hyderabad with 26 runs. 

Chasing a modest target of 116, KKR reached 119 for 4 in 19.4 overs overs to win the match. Opener Shubman Gill top-scored with 57 from 51 balls while Nitish Rana contributed 25.

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Jason Holder was the pick of the SRH bowlers, grabbing two wickets for 32 runs, while Siddarth Kaul and Rashid Khan took a wicket apiece.

“I think if we got closer to the 150-mark, might have been par. We did have our chances to squeeze the scoring but it was always going to be tough with such a low score. We haven’t been able to identify the right score all season,” Williamson said after the match. 

He added that the team needs to re-assess things, The Kiwi also praised debutant Umran Malik, who bowled with great pace. 

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“We need to go back to the drawing board and re-assess things. We could have built more partnerships. Unfortunately we were 10-15 short of what would have been a competitive score. He (Malik) has been bowling really quick in the nets and it’s really nice for him to get an opportunity today. Obviously we’re out of the competition, so it’s a chance for some other boys to also get on the park.”