Kolkata Knight Riders opened their IPL 2024 campaign with a 4-run win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, in a game that could have swung either way.
Kolkata put up a score of 208 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 20-over quota before limiting the SRH side to 204 in the chase.
KKR were helped by half-centuries from Andre Russell and Phil Salt, while home-grown batters Ramandeep Singh and Rinku Singh chipped in with contributions of 35 and 23 runs respectively.
The maverick batter, who made a name for himself in the previous edition of the IPL with his swashbuckling batting, shared an image of team owner Shah Rukh Khan alongside his family members, with a caption that read, “The ones who make my heart smile.”
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KKR were put to bat by new SRH skipper Pat Cummins, who won the toss and opted to bowl. The hosts got off to a quick start thanks to openers Salt and Sunil Naraine, who put up a 23-run stand in the first two overs before the Windies all-rounder was sent back to the dugout thanks to an incredible piece of fielding by Shahbaz Ahmed.
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KKR were shaken by the quick fall of wickets that followed as Venkatesh Iyer was dismissed for 7 runs, and skipper Shreyas Iyer walked back for a duck off just his second delivery.
Nitish Rana, who helmed the side in the absence of Shreyas last season, was also removed from the crease for 9 runs.
However, Salt and Ramandeep steadied their innings as they put up a 54-run partnership before the young Indian was given the marching orders. Salt left the crease shortly after getting his fifty.
Russell came in to bat with six overs of play left and took the game away from the opposition smashing 7 sixers and three fours in his brilliant innings to help KKR push their total beyond the 200-run mark.
SRH did well to make a game of the chase as opener Abhishek Sharma and Mayank Agarwal added 32 runs each, before Aiden Markram and Rahul Tripathi added 18 and 20 runs respectively.
South African Henrich Klaasen turned the tide of the game in the Sunriser’s favour with his sensational 63-run knock off just 29 deliveries but fell prey to Harshit Rana in the final over before taking his team over the line.
KKR picked up the narrow win to open their account at home before they travel to Bangalore to take on RCB on the 29th of March. SRH, on the other hand, will look to bounce back when they host Mumbai Indians on the 27th of the month.
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