Kolkata Knight Riders joined an elite list of teams on Sunday after their 10-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Match 3 of the Indian Premier League 2021 in Chennai.
Defending a target of 188 for victory, KKR restricted SRH to 177 for 5 in 20 overs to win the match and collect 2 important points from their campaign opener in Chennai.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Wins Their 100th Match In IPL, Becoming 3rd Team To Do So
The win was Kolkata Knight Rider’s 100th in the IPL making them the third team after Mumbai Indians (120) and Chennai Super Kings (106) to achieve the feat in this competition.
The two-time champions, who won the tournament in 2012 and 2014, grabbed the 2nd spot after this result with 2 points from 1 match. They are tied on points with Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore. DC leads the table thanks to their superior net run rate while RCB is just behind Kolkata Knight Riders.
Put in to bat, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 187 for 6, riding on half-centuries from Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi. Nitish Rana top-scored with a 56-ball 80 while Rahul Tripathi also hit a half-century with a 29-ball 53. Dinesh Karthik chipped in with a 9-ball 22 not out.
SRH made a fine late comeback with Rashid Khan leading the way with figures of 2/24. Mohammad Nabi also took two wickets for 32 runs. Chasing 188 for a win, SRH could score 177 for 5 with Manish Pandey top-scoring with 61 not out of 44 balls. Jonny Bairstow made a 40-ball 55.
While KKR faces Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians next on Tuesday (April 13), SRH takes on the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore a day later. Both matches will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk.
Bangalore, Delhi, And Kolkata Wins Opening Games In IPL 2021
In the 1st game, Bangalore’s MOM Harshal Patel bowled a great last over to finish with 5/27 which kept the Mumbai Indians total under check (159/5). AB De Villiers scored 48 off 27 balls as RCB beat defending champions MI by 2 wickets in a last-ball thriller. Glenn Maxwell (39 off 28 balls) and Virat Kohli (33 off 29 balls) too contributed.
In the 2nd game between Chennai and Delhi, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw played knocks of 85 and 72 respectively to chase down the target of 189 runs against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and guided Delhi Capitals to a seven-wicket win on Saturday. CSK’s total was mainly due to the contributions of comeback man Suresh Raina’s 54, Moeen Ali’s 36, and Sam Curran’s 34.
In the 3rd match, Nitish Rana top-scored for KKR with 80 runs as KKR beat SRH who were without injured Kane Williamson. SRH fought to chase 188 with Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey hitting fifties but it went in vain.