IPL 2018: Sportzwiki Man of the Match – Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Apr 16, 2018 at 11:31 AM
Thousands of fans across all age groups filled up the seats at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to support a mouth-watering contest. It was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who came back into the side in some fashion.
The Indian pacer had a sore back and was replaced by Sandeep Sharma for the game against Mumbai Indians. Playing this away fixture, Kumar scalped three wickets and conceded just 26 runs. He bowled 13 dot balls in total.
Kolkata Knight Riders could only manage to put 138/8 on the board. Opener Chris Lynn finally fired with the bat.
The Australian hit seven fours and a six to get to 49 off 34 balls. Robin Uthappa, who opened with Lynn, got dismissed cheaply.
Skipper Dinesh Karthik held the inning together and played a solid hand of 29 off 27 balls. The Sunrisers’ bowlers stepped up on the paddle, as usual. Billy Stanlake bagged two wickets in his four overs while all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan bowled an economical spell-2/21.
Chasing 139 to win three games on a trot and take up the top spot, Wriddhiman Saha went all guns blazing. Saha scored a quick-fire 24 off 15 balls. Shikhar Dhawan, who eventually got his hands on the orange cap, got cleaned up by Sunil Narine.
Skipper Kane Williamson took matters in his hands, scoring a gritty fifty at an important juncture of the game. The Kiwi hit four boundaries and a six apart from doing a lot of running between the wickets.
Sunrisers strong after Bhuvneshwar’s return
Shakib, who starred with the ball for the visitors, scored a vital 27 off 21 balls to ensure no panic buttons get pressed. And at the end, it was Yusuf Pathan, whose six helped the orange brigade win the match convincingly.
Bhuvneshwar’s return to the fold is good news for the Sunrisers. With him leading the bowling pack, Rashid Khan, Shakib and Stanlake make it very interesting for Williamson.
Here is the newsfeed:
IPL 2018: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – Twitter Reactions
IPL 2018: One of Those Games Which Went Down to the Wire – Kane Williamson