DEFENDING champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) got back to winning ways as they outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 48 runs to notch up their second win in the Pepsi Indian Premier League, in Kolkata on Sunday (April 14).
A power-packed batting performance with significant contributions from skipper Gautam Gambhir (53), Eoin Morgan (47) and Jacques Kallis (41) enabled KKR to reach a commanding 180 for four on a slow track.
Sunrisers didn’t have the firepower to make a match of it as they managed only 132 for seven as all the KKR bowlers put up an impressive show.
After his useful knock with the bat, Kallis bowled splendidly to end with brilliant figures of three for 13 while Sri Lanka’s Sachitra Senanayake justified his selection above Brendon McCullum picking up one for 18 in his four overs.
While openers Parthiv Patel (27) and Cameron White (34) added 57 runs for the opening stand, Sunrisers’ chase never took off as the KKR bowlers varied the pace of the deliveries effectively on a slowish track.
Once White was brilliantly caught by Yusuf Pathan, who timed his jump at the boundary line to perfection, the chase was as good as over. The KKR outfielding was also exceptional on the day as Manoj Tiwary took as many as three well-judged catches in the deep.
Thisara Perera (36, 25 balls) also threw his bat around but there was too much to do with too little time left in the end.
The loss was Sunrisers second in five matches and also put a question mark on their ability to chase down big totals.
The three wins that they have notched up so far has been low scoring ones and the lack of batting depth is seriously hurting the Hyderabad franchise.
Kumar Sangakkara and his team will be eagerly waiting for Shikhar Dhawan to recover from his knuckle fracture and get back into the thick of things.
