KKR vs SRH: Three things we learned from the match
Kolkata Knight Riders chased down 182 runs at Eden Gardens in their first encounter of IPL 2019 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It looked like SRH's game after David Warner made a great comeback, but Andre Russell's late cameo stole the show as it helped KKR take down the target with two balls to spare with six wickets in hand.
Here are the three main takeaways from KKR's win over SRH:
David Warner's perfect return
It was all about David Warner making a comeback in IPL after missing out last year while serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering. It was a perfect return for the Australian opener as he thrashed the KKR bowlers to all parts of the ground.
Warner started the onslaught by hitting two fours off Piyush Chawla's first over and went on to hit nine fours in his 53-ball innings. Warner got to his fifty by hitting first off his three sixes in the innings.
He looked set to get a century on return but fell short by 15 runs and was caught at covers by Robin Uthappa off Andre Russell. Warner later revealed that he kept drinking pickle juice as he was very nervous on return. SRH would hope he carries on the same form throughout the tournament and help them reach the playoffs.
Nitish Rana embraces new role
Chasing a big total, most thought Sunil Narine would open the innings alongside Chris Lynn, but KKR had other plans. Delhi-lad Nitish Rana opened the innings with Lynn and played an important role to lead KKR's chase as he scored 68 off 47 deliveries.
He looked in complete control during the innings and scored at a strike rate of almost-150 with eight boundaries and three sixes. As the match-resumed after an interruption due to floodlight failure, Rana was trapped lbw by Rashid Khan.
It was probably the loss of concentration that got him out, but he made
his case as an opener for KKR and to anchor the innings for the side.
Andre Russell's final flourish
Vijay Shankar provided the late flourish for SRH, hitting 40 off 24 deliveries, but he was outdone by Russell's masterclass. Requiring 53 off last three overs, the Windies all-rounder muscled Sidharth Kaul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take KKR home.
Sidharth Kaul was taken for 19 runs in the 18th over, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for 21 runs in the penultimate over. Andre Russell hit 49 off 19 deliveries including four boundaries and four big maximums.
Shubman Gill finished the game for KKR as he hit Shakib al Hasan for two sixes to help his side over the line.