Eagles storm into playoffs
The Sunrisers Hyderabad survived a late attack of nerves and negotiated a tricky chase to storm into the IPL-6 playoffs with a thrilling five-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday evening.
Chasing 131, the Sunrisers hit the ground running as openers Parthiv Patel (47, 37b, 7x4) and Shikhar Dhawan (42, 35b, 3x4, 2x6) punished the Knight Riders attack. Patel played the aggressor’s role early on while Dhawan seemed content to play himself in as the Eagles raced away to 45 from the powerplay overs. But soon, Dhawan too turned on the heat and sent the KKR bowlers running for cover. By the time Dhawan was dismissed, he had put together an 89-run partnership with Patel— the Sunrisers’ highest partnership for any wicket this season — and set his team well on the road to victory.
However, the following batsmen lacked the openers’ fluency. Much like a car running with flat tyres on a slick road, the Eagles veered out of control before Darren Sammy took them home with two consecutive sixes.
For the visitors, Sunil Narine, with his economical spell and Iqbal Abdulla (3/29) were the standout bowlers.
Earlier. all-rounder Yusuf Pathan smashed a quickfire 49 but was let down by his teammates. Pathan’s 29-ball knock, containing three fours and three sixes, laid the foundation of the Kolkata innings. But the other batsmen managed only 67 more between them as extras accounted for 14 runs in the total.
Taking first strike, KKR openers Gautam Gambhir and Manvinder Bisla made a steady start to the innings, collecting 25 runs from a little over four overs. However, none barring Pathan could provide the acceleration to the Kolkata innings as they finished up with a run-rate of 6.5 runs per over.
The lion’s share of the credit for the Eagles’ show on the field must go to their leg-spinners. Amit Mishra (1/22) and the promising Karan Sharma (1/15) did not allow the KKR batsmen to score freely. Together, the duo gave away only 37 runs from eight overs.
The fast and furious Dale Steyn was excellent once again, taking 2/24 from his four overs, including the scalp of his countryman Jaques Kallis. Anand Rajan, who replaced the ill Ishant Sharma, and Thisara Perera bagged one wicket apiece for the hosts.
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