Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets
Kolkata: Andre Russell smashed an explosive 49 to spoil David Warner's scintillating IPL comeback as Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a dramatic six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, here Sunday.
Needing 53 runs from last three overs, the powerful Jamaican changed the course of the match with his big-hitting against Siddharth Kaul, creaming off 19 runs from that over.
He retained the strike by taking a smart single and continued his assault on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who too bled 19 runs in the penultimate over as KKR sealed the 182-run chase with two balls to spare.
Russell hammered four sixes and an equal number of boundaries in run sequence that read 6-6-1-4-1-4-6-4-0-6-1. Youngster Shubman Gill (18 not out) completed the formalities with two sixes off Shakib-Al-Hasan.
Promoted to open with Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana made full use of the opportunity and kept them in the hunt with a 47-ball 68.
But he departed shortly after a 12-minute interruption caused by tower lights failure.
The momentum slowly shifted in favour of SRH but Russell in a metter of minutes changed the complexion of the match. Earlier, Warner made a stupendous comeback with a scintillating 85, helping his side reach a challenging 181/3.
Putting behind the embarrassing ball tampering scandal, that kept him out last year, the Aussie smashed three sixes and nine boundaries in his 53-ball knock.
India World Cup probable Vijay Shankar also made a fine return to the Orange Army with a quick-fire unbeaten 24-ball 40 (2x4, 2x6) following Warner's exit in the 16th over.
Warner's 37th IPL fifty also made him the first cricketer in IPL to have most 50-plus scores (40) ahead of Virat Kohli (38) as the Aussie also has three centuries.
Jonny Bairstow complemented Warner well by giving him the maximum strike as the duo raced to 100-mark in 10.5 overs in their massive 118-run opening partnership.
Having opted to bowl, the otherwise disciplined KKR attack looked clueless against the rampaging Warner who was let off twice while on scores of 21 and 68 by Robin Uthappa and skipper Dinesh Karthik respectively.
Karthik's captaincy was over-defensive and lost the review to Warner early in the second over, while SRH made full use of the DRS by overturning a decision against Bairstow.
There was no looking back for Warner who batted as if he was never out of action and pierced the gaps at ease with successive boundaries against Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine to unsettle the otherwise disciplined KKR spinners.
Warner brought his fifty with a six against Andre Russell and then went on to smack India frontline spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his second six.
Such was the Warner assault that four of the regular KKR bowlers including the frontline spin duo of Sunil Narine (0/29 in three overs) and Kuldeep (0/18 in 2 overs) did not even bowl their full quota of four overs.
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K’taka cabinet approves cricket matches at M. Chinnaswamy stadium: Reports
Belagavi: The state cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reportedly given its nod to permit cricket matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, subject to certain conditions.
The decision is learnt to have been taken after a meeting held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara has been directed to formulate rules along with a referendum to hold a cricket match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The cabinet’s approval comes subject to conditions, considering the report of Justice D’Cunha, which was prepared after the stampede.
The June 4 stampede during the celebrations for RCB’s maiden IPL title killed 11 people, which raised serious questions over the stadium's capability to host large-scale events.
Will RCB be playing at their home ground next year?
Stating that the “state had learned from the tragedy,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, December 08, dismissed the talks about shifting Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home games out of the city.
He also said that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is the “pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka” and vowed that IPL fixtures will continue to be played there.
On Wednesday, Shivakumar met the newly elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad at the Circuit House in Belagavi and reiterated that cricket matches, including IPL fixtures, will not be shifted out of Bengaluru.
“We have no intention of stopping matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, but crowd control measures and the Michael D. Cunha committee’s recommendations will be implemented in phases,” he told reporters.
Shivakumar said the government is committed to promoting cricket and supporting fans while safeguarding the state’s reputation, adding that Prasad had sought the government’s cooperation and agreed to work jointly on the issue.
