Can holders end season on a high?
On the one hand, we have Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have performed far better than expected and on the other, we have Kolkata Knight Riders, who are hurting because they are no longer in contention for the knockout stages. Especially, since they’re the defending champions.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ defence has crumbled to dust now, and all they have to play for is pride when they face the former in both teams’ final league match of the season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
One would have expected a little more consistency from Knight Riders, especially since it is the same squad that had won the trophy last season.
This year’s nondescript show by the team in purple and gold has been inexplicable to say the least — both on the batting and bowling fronts. A few exceptions being captain Gautam Gautam Gambhir (396 runs including four half-centuries), Sunil Narine (22 wickets), and veteran allrounder Jacques Kaliis, (287 runs and 16 wickets).
So we have a struggling batting line-up and misfiring bowling attack taking on a team on an undeniable high, especially after Friday’s win. The Sunrisers, after being reduced to 5/3 by the Royals, had fought back, posted the all-important 130+ score on the Hyderabad wicket.
As they had done all season, save the game against the Chennai Super Kings, the Eagles then fired on all cylinders, ensuring comfortable win in the end. Amit Mishra, bagging 2/8 from four overs, was named man of the match, outshining even the exemplary James Faulkner, who had earlier taken 5/16. Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera and Karan Sharma chipped in which two wickets each, rounding off yet another magnificent bowling performance. The younger players — Hanuma Vihari, Biplab Samantray in Friday’s game and others like Ashish Reddy in previous matches — performed better than expected when given a chance.
If the senior batsmen come good on Sunday, it will give the home fans a final game to remember.
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