IPL 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders holds nerves to tame SunRisers Hyderabad by 5 runs

It was a spirited performance from former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against former champion SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), as the former won by five runs in Match 47 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. The victory allows the visitors to stay in the playoffs race, whereas the defeat has put the hosts in a do-or-die situation for the event remainder.

After winning the coin toss, KKR interestingly chose to defend while it was off to a rocky start, losing three for 35 by the fifth over of the PowerPlay (PP). Then, skipper Nitish Rana (42) and Rinku Singh (46) added 61 for the fourth wickets before the former departed to off-spinner Aiden Markram in the 12th.

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It was followed by a 31-run partnership between Rinku and Andre Russell (24) before the latter fell to leg-spinner Mayank Markande in the 15th at 127. Thereon, Kolkata could barely get any partnerships going, with the former falling as the eighth wicket in the final over to pacer T Natarajan at 168, while it finished on a par total of 171/9.

After the 18th over, the Knight Riders brought Anukul Roy (13*) as the Impact Player (IP) for Jason Roy (20). For SRH, pacers Marco Jansen and Natarajan grasped a couple of wickets each, whereas Markande was quite economical. In reply, it was not off to the best start, losing three for 53 by the sixth over of the PP, besides bringing in IP Rahul Tripathi (20) for Natarajan, who fell during the phase.

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Nevertheless, Hyderabad managed to maintain the required rate during the PP phase. While it was down to 54/4 by the seventh, Markram (41) and Heinrich Klaasen (36) put on 70 for the fourth wicket to bring the side firmly back into the chase. It was in the 15th when pacer Shardul Thakur broke the stand by dismissing the latter.

However, thereon, the SunRisers needed help to get a decent partnership. With nine required from six, leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy bowled superbly to get the job done for KKR by five runs. For the winning side, pacers Vaibhav Arora and Thakur held a couple each, while Chakravarthy was highly economical.