Clinical SRH brush past KKR with ease

Sunrisers Hyderabad had never beaten Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in five attempts prior to this. On their sixth attempt, however, they outplayed the hosts by first restricting them to 138 for 8 in 20 overs, before chasing down the total rather comfortably in the end, remaining unbeaten in three games so far this season with a five-wicket win on Saturday (April 14) with an over to spare.

How SRH set up their win

Chasing a modest total, and after losing their openers early, Kane Williamson led from the front with a half-century to take his side close to the finish line. The skipper tried nothing flashy, but stuck to his game and style of play, recognizing the need for stability at one end. With Manish Pandey departing cheaply, Shakib Al Hasan needed to stand up. He took the cue and added 59 runs with his skipper for the fourth wicket. SRH's batsmen played to the situation, keeping the runs coming steadily. Shakib fell for a 21-ball 27, while Williamson fell soon after reaching his 50. Yusuf Pathan kept his calm and finished the game off with a six, unbeaten on 17.

Forcing the middle order to stand up

Mitchell Johnson, on return from a niggle, had Wriddhiman Saha go after him in the third over, taking him for three boundaries in an over that fetched SRH 16 runs, getting them off to a strong start.