Wrapping up

Sunrisers finally break their string of defeats. They had to tonight to make the final. But they weren’t as clinical as they were during their six-game winning streak in the mid stages of the IPL. They stumbled with the bat until the last few overs. With the ball, they leaked too many runs upfront. But whenever they were in trouble, came Rashid Khan to the rescue. His 10-ball 34 and 3/19 will be one of the finest T20 performances of all time. But once he got the important breakthroughs, Kane Williamson made sure to capitalise on the situation: he set tight fields, made the right bowling choices to stifle the Knight Riders. Now, Williamson and his men will take on the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday night with a 0-3 head-to-head record against them.

Rashid, of course, is the man of the match: The win was much-needed for me, wanted to give my 100 percent in all departmentsI was happy with the batting, it was needed in the end. I started my career as a batsman, I believe in my skills and wanted to finish off well. I just tried to pick the lengths, the focus was to play straight. That was the plan from the senior players. Fielding is one department where you can’t make excuses, compared to last year, I’ve worked really hard in my fielding. If I can’t contribute with bat or ball, I’m always looking forward to contribute on the field. Modern cricket demands that. I’m working hard on that.

Kane Williamson: It was a great fighting effort. The game could’ve gone either way, fell our way in crunch moments. Credit to the way the boys finished off. Was slipping away at the start, but we pulled it back nicely to get wickets. Rashid was brilliant, but he’s got another game day after. We’ll keep him wrapped up. As a team we fight till the last ball, showed that today. Someone like Rashid is the perfect example of that.The thing we didn’t change was our balance, Saha was injured but he came back, was nice to have his experience. Every one of the guys have played a huge part, whether on or off the field.

Dinesh Karthik, understandably, is gutted after the loss. “It’s hard to digest,” he says. “We played a good tournament. To finish on the losing side doesn’t feel good. We had the game at the 10-over mark, couple of bad shots cost us. Me, Robin had to bat through, Lynn was good. Me not batting through was a mistake on my part.”

Last ball, Knight Riders need 15 off it. And, of course, they can’t get it. Just cross for a single. AND, SUNRISERS HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE IPL FINAL FOR THE SECOND TIME!

19.4 and 19.5 DOTS! Kuldeep goes for scoops and misses them. SRH is one ball away from the final.

19.3 WICKET! On the pads, Shubman Gill lofts to clear deep-midwicket and finds Rashid. KKR need 15 off 3.

19.2 WICKET! Mavi, as he’s supposed to, goes for a big one. Brathwaite doesn’t give much room though. He tries clearing long on and finds... yes, Rashid Khan (he’s been omnipresent for SRH tonight).

19.1 FOUR! A little wide from Brathwaite and Mavi slashes him to backward point boundary.

After 19 overs, KKR 156/7 (Gill 30, Mavi 2): Shubman Gill offers a glimmer of hope for the Knight Riders by hitting a six off the last ball from Sid Kaul. But they need 19 from the last over, a big ask.

WICKET! Piyush Chawla loses his stumps, trying to smash a fuller length ball. He misses it, gets a little edge and the ball crashes on to his stumps. KKR now need 30 from 11.

After 18 overs, KKR 132/6 (Gill 15, Chawla 9): The match is slipping away from KKR. Shubman Gill’s four off the last ball keeps them afloat though. They need 30 off the last two overs.

After 17 overs, KKR 132/6 (Gill 15, Chawla 9): Excellent over by Sid Kaul. A flurry of perfectly executed yorkers to strangulate the KKR batsmen. Just four runs off that over.

After 16 overs, KKR 132/6 (Gill 13, Chawla 7): 14 runs from that Khaleel Ahmed over. Piyush Chawla takes a wild swing at Ahmed’s last ball to send it to the orbit. Well over the short boundaries of Eden Gardens, too. KKR still has a tough chase ahead but they have a bit of hope with Gill and Chawla around.

WICKET! Rashid Khan again. Googly. Stifles Russell, who was going for a cut and forces him to edge the ball to slips. The Sunrisers would believe that the game’s in their hands. Only Shubman Gill left to rescue KKR from here. SRH: 118/6 in 14.4 overs.

After 14 overs, KKR 118/5 (Gill 7, Russell 3): This match has completely turned around after the quick wickets of Lynn and Russell. Gill and Russell look subdued in the middle. They need to survive one more over of Rashid Khan. But not like the other SRH bowlers are easy scoring options. They need to get the team over the line for there aren’t many batters left after this.

WICKET! Two wickets in three balls for KKR. And, it’s the big one of Chris Lynn. And, who else but Rashid Khan to get the big breakthrough? He’s done it with the bat and is doing it with the ball for SRH. SRH: 108/5 in 12.2 overs (and in bit of a trouble)

WICKET! Shakib gets the big one of DK with a slider. Karthik rocks back to cut the ball but looks like it’s kept a touch low. It takes the under edge of Karthik’s bat and clips the stumps. SRH: 108/4 in 12 overs.

After 11 overs, KKR 104/3 (Lynn 46, Karthik 6): A boundary off a Rashid over is a bonus. DK and Lynn score one each. So that’s very profitable from a Rashid over after the wicket of Uthappa.

WICKET! That man, Rashid, comes in and picks up a wicket. Slightly quick delivery pitched on the middle. Uthappa, who was stifled in the last over, tries a reverse-sweep against the tournament’s best spinner and loses his leg stump. SRH: 93/3 in 10.1 overs.

After 10 overs, KKR 93/2 (Lynn 41, Uthappa 2): Kolkata have got themselves into a bit of a rut after the run out. Bhuvneshwar Kumar stifles Uthappa bowling in the good length area and a little short. Four dots, one single and a four off Lynn’s outside edge to finish that over.

WICKET! Needless wicket that for KKR. Rana hits to midwicket and calls for two but stumbles in between. He still goes for the second run and falls short. He rues getting out like this after getting set. After 8.3, SRH: 87/2.

After 8 overs, KKR 81/1 (Lynn 26, Rana 16): If you give him width and bowl short, Chris Lynn will put you through misery, damage your bowling figures and crack your morale. But that’s what Carlos Brathwaite does and Lynn slashes him for two fours. Williamson should bring on the spinners to stop him, for he strikes at less than 100 against them.

After 7 overs, KKR 70/1 (Lynn 26, Rana 16): After all that carnage, Rashid Khan comes and bowls a three-run over. Easily the best spinner of this IPL. Of course, no wonder he’s the world No 1 and sought after by leagues all around the world. KKR has subdued the other Sunrisers but Rashid dominated them with the bat and now doing it with the ball.

After 6 overs, KKR 67/1 (Lynn 25, Rana 14): Sid Kaul’s been the most economical bowler for the Sunrisers so far at 8.71 RPO. Shows how the top order has decimated the bowling so far. Sunrisers will be targetting Lynn after the Powerplay. The ploy to contain him might not work well.

After 5 overs, KKR 58/1 (Lynn 17, Rana 13): It looks like Kolkata Knight Riders top-order batters don’t believe in building an innings. Everyone seems to explode from the start. Nitish Rana hits Khaleel’s third ball for a six and mishits the fifth for the same result. To borrow a commentator’s cliche: “Doesn’t matter how they come as long as they do.”

WICKET! Finally, the storm has died down. Narine looks for another big one and holes out to Carlos Brathwaite at mid on. Looks like he didn’t read Sid Kaul’s slower one. SRH: 40/1 in 3.2 overs.

After 3 overs, KKR 38/0 (Lynn 12, Narine 24): Okay, Narine, that’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar, one of the best bowlers, especially in T20s, in the world today. But Narine doesn’t care. He tears him apart with four consecutive boundaries.

2.1: Slams the ball to the covers.

2.2: Launches Bhuvneshwar over long off ropes when he bowled full, outside off and in Narine’s zone.

2.3: Short ball was put away to the short fine leg.

2.4: Knuckle ball. But Narine reads it and launches it over Bhuvneshwar’s head.

19 off that over for KKR! This is why they ask Narine to smash as much as he can in the beginning!

After 2 overs, KKR 19/0 (Lynn 12, Narine 5): Khaleel’s got some serious pace. Consistently clocks 140+ Except the first ball that was drifted down the leg (Narine hit it past the fine leg boundary) and the last ball that was pitched short (Lynn hit a straight six), he bowled well.

After one over, KKR 6/0 (Lynn 5, Narine 0): Typical, quiet Bhuvneshwar Kumar over. Just one bad ball – wide, short of a length stuff – that was put away by Lynn to the point boundary.

Sunrisers finish at 174/7! Rashid Khan you beauty! So what if Carlos is out? He’s made 34 off 10. This innings could make all the difference. Last three overs have yielded 50 runs. These overs could make all the difference in this match. This over alone, SRH make 24. 18 off those come from Rashid’s bat. From outside off stump, he helicopters Prasidh Krishna over deep backward square leg.

After 19 overs, SRH 150/7 (Rashid 16, Kumar 0): Rashid Khan has starred for SRH with the ball. He’s doing it for them with the bat now. Hits two sixes off Shivam Mavi to boost the Sunrisers to 150. Another over left. How much more can they score?

WICKET! Ah, another one! Yusuf Pathan was never in good touch this season and his poor run continues. He miscues a hit as Piyush Chawla, runs in from the sweeper cover position, dives and completes a sensational catch. Brilliant stuff. SRH: 138/7 in 18.1 overs

WICKET! Carlos Brathwaite had hit a 85-meter six and was looking to provide the late boost for Sunrisers. But it hasn’t been their night so far and he and Yusuf Pathan misjudge a run and falls short of his crease when returning for a double. Huge blow for the Sunrisers. They are reeling at 134/6 in 17.5 overs.

WICKET! Eighth straight over of spin and it brings and it’s produced another wicket for the Knight Riders. Hooda tries to go big against Narine, but doesn’t read the bounce well, mishits to Piyush Chawla at point. SRH: 124/5 in 16.5 overs.

WICKET! Misfortune hits Sunrisers when they were already struggling. Deepak Hooda hits Kuldeep Yadav straight to the stumps. The ball flicks Kuldeep’s fingers and hits the stumps. The non-striker, Shakib, is out of his crease. And he has to go now. SRH: 113/4 in 15.1 overs.

After 14 overs, SRH 100/3 (Shakib 19, Hooda 6): Another over of spin. No boundaries. Just five runs off it. Hooda and Shakib are still getting their eyes in.

After 13 overs, SRH 95/3 (Shakib 17, Hooda 3): Knight Riders are strangling the Sunrisers with spin. Just five runs conceded in the over. Commentators reckon it’s a 180-plus wicket. Sunrisers need to work a lot more to get there.

WICKET! Another one falls, another massive blow for the Sunrisers. Saha gets Piyush Chawla’s googly on the pads and takes off for a run without really watching the ball. Karthik behind the stumps collects it quickly and dislodges the bails before Saha gets back. SRH: 84/3 in 10.3 overs.

After 10 overs, SRH 79/2 (Saha 35, Shakib 5): Saha has no problems picking the man who got Dhawan and Williamson: Kuldeep. Sweeps him to square leg and fine leg to score two boundaries in that over.

After 9 overs, SRH 69/2 (Saha 26, Shakib 4): The Sunrisers middle order hasn’t contributed much to their team but tonight they have to for their team to go to the final. Shakib and Saha need to put on at least a 50-plus stand.

WICKET! It’s the big one of Kane Williamson! It’s Kuldeep Yadav again. Flights the ball, pitches it slightly outside off, draws the front-foot defence from Williamson. But seems like the SRH skipper didn’t read the googly. The ball kisses the edge and goes to Karthik’s hands. Big, big moment for KKR in this game. SRH: 61/2 in 8 overs.

WICKET! Well tossed up by Kuldeep Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan – full of confidence and all – goes for a sweep. But misses it. And the ball raps him on the pads. Plumb. He has to go after a well-made 34. SRH: 56/1 in 7.1 overs.

After 7 overs, SRH 45 (Dhawan 24, Saha 19): Dhawan looks in great touch. Welcomes Piyush Chawla with two fiercely hit fours – one, straight down the ground and the second, to the long-off. But you don’t bowl too short to Dhawan.

After 6 overs, SRH 45 (Dhawan 24, Saha 19): Sunil Narine comes and does his thing. Some skiddy off-breaks, quick, straight ones. Just five runs conceded off the over.

After 5 overs, SRH 40 (Dhawan 21, Saha 17): DK gets another over from Mavi. He concedes a couple of boundaries to Saha this time though. The first one comes off a slice to third man area and the other off a hoick over midwicket.

After 4 overs, SRH 27 (Dhawan 19, Saha 6): A couple of boundaries by Dhawan off Russell to ease the pressure of Sunrisers. Saha’s still looking a little unsettled at the moment. He can be dangerous if he gets going though.

After 3 overs, SRH 14 (Dhawan 8, Saha 4): DROPPED CATCH! A miscued pull by Saha off Mavi ballooned in the air. DK called very early for it. But the ball went too high. And, DK seems to have misjudged the catch (something he does rarely). Excellent start by Mavi. Just eight runs in four overs. Also, Dhawan’s past 4000 IPL runs.

After 2 overs, SRH 14 (Dhawan 8, Saha 4): Saha and Dhawan haven’t batted together in this IPL before. And it shows. Seem to unsure about the running. But Dhawan hits the first six (flick over square leg) for Sunrisers.

After 1 over, SRH (Dhawan 1, Saha 2): Excellent start by Shivam Mavi. Just four off it. Constantly bowled in the ‘corridor’ at nearly 140 kmph. At least for the first few overs, the pitch will have something in it for the bowlers.

Alright, Russell with the new ball and Shikhar Dhawan comes out to bat with... surprise, surprise, Wriddhiman Saha.

Form-wise, KKR are the favourites to win this game. But the bowling attack of SRH can’t be underestimated. They have defended 118 in this IPL. But Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine took them to the cleaners (for a brief while) the last time the two sides met. So, must be a fascinating contest this time.

PLAYING XI:-

SRH: Dhawan, Saha, Williamson (c), Shakib, Hooda, Pathan, Brathwaite, Bhuvneshwar, Rashid, Kaul, Ahmed. (Goswami, Sandeep and Pandey out)

KKR: Lynn, Narine, Uthappa, Karthik (c), Rana, Gill, Russell, Mavi, Chawla, Yadav, Krishna. (Searles out)

TOSS: Kolkata Knight Riders have won it and they will bowl first!

Here’s a look at the teams’ head-to-head stats:-

Overall: Matches – 14, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 5, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 9

At the Eden Gardens: Matches – 6, Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 1, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 5

6:00 pm Hello and welcome to the IPL Qualifier 2. Two teams with contrasting journeys will take on each other for a spot in the final. Sunrisers, for a while, looked like they were unbeatable. Then, for the last four matches, they seemingly forgot how to win. But Kolkata Knight Riders peaked at the right time, won three matches on the trot to enter the play-offs, then, beat Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator. Two more wins will see Dinesh Karthik’s men lift the trophy. But standing in their way are the table toppers this season. If they can sneak past the Sunrisers, they will need to vanquish the mighty Super Kings. But to sneak past Sunrisers is no easy task.