It was yet another disciplined effort from the Sunrisers Hyderabad which saw them dominate a helpless Kolkata Knight Riders outfit in Delhi. By the virtue of the win, the Sunrisers have qualified for the second qualifier, which will be contested in Delhi itself, against a demoralized outfit of the Gujarat Lions.
Gautam Gambhir on winning the toss put the Sunrisers in, and the Knight Riders’ bowlers stood up to the task. The top order of the Sunrisers could barely get going as they lose wickets frequently. The man for the big occasions, Yuvraj Singh stepped up in style as his clean strikes propelled the Sunrisers to a healthy total. Yuvraj played a few vintage shots, which reminded viewers of the good old days. With their bowlers on the money, the Sunrisers won the game by 22 runs to knock the Knight Riders out.
Post his side’s loss, a dejected Gautam Gambhir admitted that Singh’s knock was simply unbelievable. “I thought it was a good wicket and 160 odd was chaseable, the way we started. Munro’s run out was the turning point. I thought we did not have big partnerships and someone needed to play a Yuvi-like cameo which was an unbelievable innings, though not a fifty but that changed the momentum,” said Gambhir.
Admitting that he missed the services of Andre Russell, Gambhir said, “Missed Russell in the last couple of overs. He can hit 140s too. Difficult to replace him but we tried to get the best combination. We should have got 160 on this wicket. They did well to restrict the opposition but batters weren’t up to the expectations. In this format, you have to play well and the individuals can take the game away. Getting into this game, we were confident because we had won against them. But when you lose Russell, it is difficult to replace someone like him. Fans have been unbelievable,” said Gambhir.