Kolkata (TIP)- Venkatesh Iyer answered his critics with a match-winning 60 off 29 balls, propelling Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing 80-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL here on April 3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s classy 50 off 32 balls in an 81-run stand with skipper Ajinkya Rahane (38 off 27) laid the foundation, while Iyer and Rinku Singh (32 not out off 17 balls) provided the late fireworks with a 91-run partnership off 41 balls to lift KKR to 200/6 — their highest total of the season. Seamer Vaibhav Arora set the tone by removing the dangerous Travis Head (4) and Ishan Kishan (2) in successive overs to return with impressive figures of 3/29.
Harshit Rana dismissed Abhishek Sharma (2), leaving SRH reeling at 9/3 in 2.1 overs, while Andre Russell and Sunil Narine also chipped in with a wicket each to make it 66/5 inside 10 overs.
Varun Chakravarthy then cleaned up the lower order taking two wickets in two balls en route to his 3/22 as SRH crumbled to 120 all out — their explosive batting lineup lasting just 16.4 overs.
The defending champions thus returned to winning ways after losing two of their first three matches. Meanwhile, SRH, endured their third straight defeat.
After being reduced to 9/3, Nitish Reddy (19) counterattacked Arora with two fours and a six, while Kamindu Mendis (27 off 20 balls) lifted hopes by taking on Russell with a pick-up shot over deep square leg. But Russell struck back to remove Reddy before Narine accounted for Mendis in the 10th over, reducing SRH to 66/5 at the halfway mark and effectively ending their chase.
Earlier, KKR’s new-look opening pair continued to struggle, with Quinton de Kock (1) and Narine (7) once again falling cheaply after Pat Cummins opted to bowl first.
Rahane and Raghuvanshi steadied the innings, countering early movement with intelligent shot selection. Rahane’s back-to-back pull-shot sixes off Mohammed Shami and Cummins broke the shackles, as KKR reached 53/2 after the powerplay.
Raghuvanshi showcased his stroke-making prowess with exquisite drives and a stunning reverse hit past backward point, reaching his fifty in 30 balls.
Zeeshan Ansari eventually ended the partnership, dismissing Rahane in the same over Raghuvanshi was dropped on 43.
However, the youngster didn’t last long, falling to a stunning forward-diving catch off IPL debutant Mendis. Mendis bowled left-arm spin to right-hander Raghuvanshi before switching to off-spin against the left-handed Rinku Singh in the same over, a rare sight in the competition.
Boundaries dried up for 16 balls before Iyer, KKR’s costliest player this season (Rs 23.75 crore), broke the shackles with a desperate pull off a Simarjeet Singh beamer.
Rinku followed with three successive boundaries off Harshal Patel before Iyer tore into Simarjeet, hammering him for consecutive fours. Rinku finished the over with a towering six over long-on, while Iyer went berserk against Cummins in the 19th over, smashing him for 4, 6, 4, 4 in succession as KKR amassed 78 runs in the last five overs.