Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won their opening game of IPL 2019 after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens (Kolkata) on Sunday (24th March) evening.
KKR captain Dinesh Karthik decided to field first after winning the toss. SRH managed to score 181/3 in the first innings. In reply, KKR thrillingly chased that target in 19.4 overs after losing four wickets. The host side won the match by six wickets with two balls remaining.
Brief Scores: SRH – 181/3 in 20 overs (David Warner 85, Vijay Shankar 40*; Andre Russell 2/32)
KKR – 183/4 in 19.4 overs (Nitish Rana 68, Andre Russell 49*; Rashid Khan 1/26)
Result – KKR won by six wickets
Here are some of the statistical highlights of the match:
(Teams’ Stats)
SRH
i) SRH scored 181/3 in 20 overs.
- It was their second-highest total against KKR. Their record is 209/3 (20 overs) at Hyderabad (Deccan) on 30th April 2017.
KKR
i) KKR chased down the 182-run target successfully in 19.4 overs (183/4).
- It is their highest total against SRH. Their previous record was 180/4 (20 overs) at Kolkata on 14 April 2013.
- It is KKR’s second highest successful chase at Eden Gardens (Kolkata). Their record successful home chase is 184 runs (184/9 in 19.5 overs) against Kings XI Punjab on 9th May 2015.
(Players’ Stats)
David Warner
i) SRH opener David Warner scored his 37th half-century in IPL career.
- It is most by any batsman in IPL history. David Warner surpassed Gautam Gambhir’s tally of 36 Half-centuries.
ii) SRH opener David Warner scored 85 runs off 53 balls.
- It was the third highest individual score for an SRH batsman against KKR. The top two scores also belong to David Warner who scored 126 and 91 before.
iii) By the end of this match, David Warner has scored 762 runs against KKR.
- David Warner is the second most run-scorer against KKR. During this match, he surpassed Rohit Sharma who has scored 757 runs against KKR. Only Suresh Raina is now ahead of David Warner who has scored 883 runs against this Kolkata franchise.
David Warner-Jonny Bairstow
i) SRH openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow put 118 runs partnership for the first wicket.
- It is the highest runs partnership for any wicket for SRH at Eden Gardens (Kolkata). Their previous record was the 64-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Naman Ojha for the second wicket against KKR.
- It was the second highest opening partnership for any visiting side against KKR at Eden Gardens (Kolkata). The record is 123 runs opening partnership between Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan (Royal Challengers Bangalore) on 22nd April 2011.
- It was SRH’s third highest partnership for any wicket against KKR.
SRH’s top three partnerships for any wicket against KKR
| Partners | Partnership runs | Partnership for the wicket | Venue | Date |
| David Warner & Shikhar Dhawan | 139 | 1st | Hyderabad (Deccan) | 30 April 2017 |
| David Warner & Shikhar Dhawan | 130 | 1st | Visakhapatnam | 22 April 2015 |
| David Warner & Jonny Bairstow | 118 | 1st | Kolkata | 24 March 2019 |
Robin Uthappa
i) KKR batsman Robin Uthappa has scored 472 runs against SRH.
- Robin Uthappa is the second most run-scorer against SRH. During this match, he surpassed Suresh Raina who has scored 467 runs against SRH. Only Virat Kohli is now ahead of Robin Uthappa who has scored 485 runs against this Hyderabad franchise.