Highlights, IPL 2019, KKR vs SRH Match at Kolkata, Full cricket score: Russell's 19-ball 49 takes Knight Riders home

What we have seen in the final three overs of the match is just carnage. Absolute carnage. KKR needed 53 in 18 balls and ended up winning the game with 2 balls remaining. Power hitting at its best, that too against the best bowling attack of the tournament. The way Russell hit Kaul and Bhuvi in 18th and 19th over of the innings, proves why he is considered as one of the best T20 hitters around. Also, don’t forget Gill’s finishing touch. Must say, this victory is a backdoor entry for the home team, who initially looked rusty. Nevertheless, it has been a happy ending and that’s what ultimately matters.

WHAT AN INNINGS!

After 19.4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 183/4 ( Andre Russell 49 , Shubman Gill 18)

What a terrific finish to the game from the KKR perspective! An under-pressure Shakib starts off with a wide. Russell collects a single off the second delivery, bringing young Gill on strike. As ferocious as Russell was with the bat so far, it is Gill who finishes the game off in style with a couple of sixes, as the Kolkata Knight Riders script a memorable six wicket win and collect their first points on the board.

SIX! Kolkata Knight Riders win by six wickets! Gill hits the winning six, shuffling forward and smacking a full toss from Shakib down the ground! KKR 183/4

SIX! Now Gill joins the party, shuffling down the track and clobbering the ball over long off! KKR 177/4 Just 5 needed off 4.

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 169/4 ( Andre Russell 48 , Shubman Gill 6)

Russell collects two boundaries and a mighty six off the first three balls to put the Sunrisers under further pressure. Dot off the fourth delivery, followed by another six — this one off a mishit by Russell. The Jamaican collects a single off the last ball to keep the strike. Just 13 needed off 6 now for KKR.

SIX! Even a mishit by Russell disappears in the stands! Unbelievable hitting by the Jamaican! Stretches his arms, and hits off the toe-end of the bat, and yet manages to clear long off. KKR 168/4

FOUR! A better delivery from Bhuvneshwar, but to little avail in the end as Russell drills this down the ground, beating mid off along the way. Russell’s hitting like he wants to end the game in this over itself. KKR 162/4

SIX! The biggest hit of the evening so far! The ball disappears in the night sky, before landing several rows behind the midwicket fence! KKR 158/4

FOUR! Full delivery from Bhuvi, and Russell brings his bat down in time to squeeze this towards the cow-corner fence! KKR 152/4

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 148/4 ( Andre Russell 27 , Shubman Gill 6)

Russell smashes a six off each of the first two deliveries to put Kaul under pressure right away. Can only collect a single off the third despite hitting the ball hard. Gill brings Russell back on strike with a single off the fourth. Russell smashes the ball through extra cover for a boundary off the fifth, and collects a single off the last ball to keep the strike. Needing 34 off 12, KKR suddenly have hope with Russell at the crease.

FOUR! Creamed through the gap between extra cover and mid off! Kaul tried the knuckle ball, but couldn’t quite execute it properly. KKR 147/4

SIX! Back-to-back sixes to Russell, and he brings KKR back in the chase after a couple of quiet overs! Low full toss from Kaul, and this one’s muscled for a straight six! KKR 141/4

SIX! That’s the kind of brute power that makes Dre Russ such a dangeorus prospect! Smashes this into the stands beyond midwicket. KKR 135/4

Siddarth Kaul brought back into the attack.

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 129/4 ( Andre Russell 9 , Shubman Gill 5)

Gill collects a brace of the second delivery, with a single collected off each of the next four deliveries. Bhuvneshwar ends the over with a brilliant yorker, with Russell having little option other than to defend. Six off the over. KKR need 53 off the last 18 deliveries.

Just for laughs!

Skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns to the attack with another four overs to go in the KKR innings. Advantage Sunrisers right now after the dismissal of Rana.

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 123/4 ( Andre Russell 7 , Shubman Gill 1)

Just two deliveries are bowled in this over before one of the light towers at the High Court End goes off, causing problems to the batsmen. Play resumes a little over 10 mins later, and Rashid strikes right away, prising Rana out to put SRH in the driver’s seat. Russell ends the over with a boundary, his first of the evening. Nine runs and a wicket. Meanwhile, Shubham Gill joins Andre Russell.  KKR need 59 off 24.

We are back in business and Rana falls immediately. Clearly his rhythm was effected due to that unfortunate break. KKR are well behind in this run chase. Now it all depends on Russell.

FOUR! Russell collects his first boundary of the evening. KKR 123/4

OUT! Rashid strikes right after play resumes. Nitish Rana perhaps suffered a loss of concentration, his bat nowhere close to the ball, and was trapped plumb leg-before in the end. KKR 118/4

Rana lbw Rashid 68(47)

Players are back on the field after the interruption caused by floodlight failure. Rashid to resume bowling his final over.

It is unfortunate to see a floodlight failure in an iconic venue like Eden. And this has happened here on previous occasions as well, even during a tournament like ICC World T20 2016. Even that time the problem was found in the High Court end light tower. The same tower has gone off tonight as well.

The players are going off the field right now, whereas, the local authorities are busy in damage control. Can’t see this being fixed soon.

Timely reminder that SRK is in the house!

Play has been stopped for now as the lights go off in one of the towers at the Eden Gardens (not the first time at this venue), with Rana pointing it out just as Rashid was about to deliver the third ball of his final over.

FOUR! Reverse-swept towards the third man fence by Rana off Rashid. The southpaw’s key to KKR’s chances now. KKR 118/3

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 114/3 ( Nitish Rana 64 , Andre Russell 3)

A dot and wide to start Sandeep’s final over. Single collected off each of the next two deliveries. Rana smashes a full toss from Sandeep down the ground for a six, boosting KKR’s fledgling run-rate in the process. 10 off the over. Another five overs to go. KKR need 68 off 30 balls.

SIX! Full toss from Sandeep, and this one’s smashed down the ground by Rana! A much-needed hit for KKR with the asking rate climbing rapidly! KKR 113/3

So, it seems the fate of this game will be decided based on the outcome of the Rashid vs Russell battle. The wicket of Karthik has severely hurt KKR’s chances tonight and now it is all upto Russell. Meanwhile Rana has done a tremendous job. With wickets falling at the other end, he has got those boundaries to keep the home team still in the hunt.

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 104/3 ( Nitish Rana 56 , Andre Russell 2)

Sunrisers waste a review at the start of the 14th over after an unsuccessful lbw appeal by Rashid against Rana. The southpaw then cuts the next delivery through square to collect his seventh boundary. Russell barely picks a googly from Rashid, somehow managing to collect a single in the end. Rana sweeps towards square-leg off the last ball to keep the strike. Seven off the over.

FOUR! Cut hard through point by Rana to collect his seventh boundary. Brings up the 100 for the hosts in the process. KKR 101/3

Rashid appeals for lbw against Rana first ball into the 14th over, and SRH go for the review after it’s turned down. Looks like it would’ve missed leg. Pitching outside leg. Ends the matter right there.

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 97/3 ( Nitish Rana 50 , Andre Russell 1)

Rana flicks a full delivery towards the square leg fence for a boundary at the start of the over, which is followed by a wide. Sandeep however, makes up for the poor start by dismissing Karthik three balls later, resulting in KKR losing their third wicket. Andre Russell joins Rana at the crease. Rana brings up his sixth IPL fifty with a single off the last delivery.

Fifty to Nitish Rana — his sixth in IPL — and he brings up the milestone with a single off the last delivery of the 13th over. KKR 97/3

OUT! Knuckle ball does the trick for Sandeep as the ball stops on Karthik, who then chips it to his SRH counterpart Bhuvneshwar at extra cover to depart for 2. KKR 95/3

Karthik c Bhuvneshwar b Sandeep 2(4)

FOUR! Rana gets down on one knee, and flicks a full delivery from Sandeep over square-leg to collect his sixth boundary. KKR 91/2

What do you say?

Not the ideal time to lose Uthappa. This will peg the hosts back. Skipper Karthik comes to the crease and with people like Russell to follow, we are heading towards an exciting finish in this game. The asking rate is still stiff and SRH have the variety as well as the quality in their death bowling. Well, at this point the visitors are slightly ahead in this game.

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 87/2 ( Nitish Rana 44 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 0)

Excellent over from Kaul after being brought back into the attack, conceding just two runs while getting rid of Uthappa with a superb yorker to dismiss him for 35. Skipper DK walks out to the crease, and is yet to get off the mark after facing two balls.

BOWLED! Kaul gets the breakthrough, bowling a vicious yorker to Uthappa just as the batsman was stepping out of his crease, flattening the off stump in the process. KKR 87/2

Uthappa b Kaul 35(27)

Siddarth Kaul returns to the attack for his third over.

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 85/1 ( Nitish Rana 43 , Robin Uthappa 34)

Shakib’s smashed for a six first ball into his third over, this one travelling flat over the square-leg fence. Rana also collects a maximum for himself four deliveries later, getting down on one knee and smashing the ball into the stands beyond wide long on. Huge over for KKR, with 15 coming off it.

SIX! Two maximums in the 11th over already, and Shakib’s under immense pressure! Rana gets down on one knee, and deposits this in the stands beyond wide long on. KKR 85/1

SIX! Flat hit over square leg, the ball travelling close to the fielder’s outstretched hand! KKR 76/1

Shakib Al Hasan brought back in the 11th over.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 70/1 ( Nitish Rana 37 , Robin Uthappa 25)

Rashid foxes Uthappa with a googly off the penultimate delivery, the latter nearly chopping the ball onto his stumps. Superb over from Rashid, just two coming off it. At the halfway mark in their innings, the Knight Riders have a plenty of wickets at their disposal, but need to accelerate sooner or later with the required run-rate crossing 11 now.

Not the start Pathan was wishing for in IPL 2019

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 68/1 ( Nitish Rana 36 , Robin Uthappa 24)

Uthappa collects a single off the first delivery. Fine stop by Bhuvneshwar at midwicket to save a couple of runs or even more for the visiting side, restricting Rana to only a single. Rana collects a boundary three balls later, getting down on one knee and rolling his wrists to a slower ball to guide it towards long leg. Eight off the over. KKR looking good in the first timeout of the innings.

Luck going KKR’s way. Uthappa gets a lucky break. This can hurt SRH. However, with the asking rate still above 10, KKR batters can’t afford to slow down. And from this point of view, Rashid’s overs in the middle will play a key role in the outcome of this game.

FOUR! Rana gets down on one knee, and guides this towards the long leg fence! Was a slower one from Sandeep, and Rana picked it. KKR 67/1

Sandeep Sharma brought back in place of Siddarth Kaul.

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 60/1 ( Nitish Rana 30 , Robin Uthappa 22)

DROPPED! Yusuf puts down a sitter at long off after a mishit by Uthappa, and Rashid’s denied a wicket in his first over. To rub salt on the wound, Rana gets a boundary off the next ball off a top-edge, which also brings up the fifty stand. Nine off the over.

FOUR! Rana gets a thick top-edge while going for a swipe across the line. The ball flies over the slip fielder, and runs awa to the third man fence to bring up the fifty stand! KKR 58/1

Rashid Khan brought into the attack in the eighth over.

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 51/1 ( Nitish Rana 25 , Robin Uthappa 19)

Tidy over from Siddarth Kaul, with just four singles coming off it as Rana and Uthappa are happy to rotate the strike between themselves. Meanwhile, fifty up for KKR, who are motoring along nicely after Lynn’s exit.

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 47/1 ( Nitish Rana 23 , Robin Uthappa 17)

Seven runs off the final over of the powerplay, including a boundary to Uthappa off the fourth delivery, as the current pair bring KKR back on their feet after losing the wicket of Lynn early.

FOUR! Uthappa shimmies down the track, and squeezes the full delivery from Shakib through point! KKR 45/1

Shakib brought back into the attack in the final over of the powerplay.

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 40/1 ( Nitish Rana 21 , Robin Uthappa 12)

Uthappa clips the ball towards the deep square-leg region for a brace off the first ball. Uthappa moves to double figures with a boundary off the fourth delivery. Rana retains the strike with a single off the last ball. 10 off the over. Three good overs for KKR so far.

The wicket of Lynn may have given KKR some early headaches, but they have recovered quickly from there thanks to this effort of Rana and Uthappa. They are not over-attacking, but getting the job done with those occasional boundaries and sixes through proper cricketing shots. KKR well on course at this point.

FOUR! Hammered down the ground by Uthappa off Kaul, with the man at mid-off putting in a dive in vain. KKR 38/1

An interesting passage of play this is. First of all the decision of not opening with Narine seems like a well thought out one for the KKR. Last season he struggled against Bhuvi in the powerplay. Hence, this time they haven’t exposed him early. Perhaps, he will be sent to upset Rashid’s rhythm.

Siddarth Kaul brought into the attack in the fifth over.

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 30/1 ( Nitish Rana 19 , Robin Uthappa 4)

Sandeep’s off to a rough start after getting introduced in the fourth over, getting hit for two fours and a six by Rana, with 14 coming off the over. Partnership between Rana and Uthappa already worth 23 off 12 balls.

FOUR! Rana opens the face of his bat, and guides the ball towards the third man fence! KKR 30/1

SIX! This one lands on the boundary cushion at long on after a lofted shot by Rana, and is adjudged six after a few replays. KKR 26/1

FOUR! Clipped away towards the long on fence by Rana, who’s starting to look good already! KKR 20/1

Sandeep Sharma brought into the attack in the fourth over.

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 16/1 ( Nitish Rana 5 , Robin Uthappa 4)

Good over for KKR, with two boundaries coming off it — one added to each of Rana and Uthappa’s tallies. What’s more, Rashid appears to be in some discomfort after getting hit on an injured hand while fielding inside the circle.

FOUR! First boundary to new batsman Robin Uthappa, who clips the ball off his hip towards fine leg. KKR 16/1

FOUR! First boundary for Nitish Rana, as he cracks this through cover point. Rashid fails to stop the ball while positioned in the circle, the ball appearing to deflect off his hand, and he’s in pain after that. KKR 11/1

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 7/1 ( Nitish Rana 0 , )

Shakib bowls from the other end, and is off to a rough start, as Lynn charges down the track and smashes the ball over long on for a maximum. He, however, doesn’t last long as Shakib deceives him with a flatter arm ball that cramps him for room, inducing a leading edge and simple catch to Rashid. Six runs and a wicket off the over.

OUT! Lynn perishes early, as Shakib deceives him with a flatter arm ball bowled at his body, cramping him for room. Lynn gets a thick leading edge, and an array of fielders converge at extra cover, among whom Rashid collects the simple catch. KKR 7/1

Lynn c Rashid b Shakib 7(11)

SIX! After a quiet first over, Lynn’s decided to go downtown against the spinner, smashing Shakib over long on for a maximum! KKR 7/0

Shakib Al Hasan bowls from the other end.

After 1 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 1/0 ( Chris Lynn 1 , Nitish Rana 0)

Stand-in skipper Bhuvi starts off with a delivery that nips back in, and beats Lynn’s defence completely. After four dot balls, Lynn finally gets off the mark with a quick single. Rana, who’s opening the innings for KKR for the first time, defends off the last delivery. Just one off the over.

Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana walk out to open the KKR innings. Skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens the bowling for the Sunrisers. Despite not officially leading the side, Warner’s an animated man at the centre right now.

This has been a decent recovery for KKR after SRH were 92/0 in the first 10 overs. For me, Ferguson has been their best bowler in this innings. His pace has made a difference along with the accuracy. 

Nevertheless, 182 is achievable on this pitch even against the quality of SRH attack. But for that the home team need a flying start in the powerplay. In hindsight, for the visitors, Bhuvi’s overs with the new ball holds the key, I believe.

Can KKR chase this down?

“It was just good to go out there and contribute to the team. Knew it was going to be a nice wicket to bat on. Im pretty chirpy in the changing room, (but today) I didn’t say much. Had a bit of pickle juice. Obviously at night here, it comes on nicely. We have to assess what lengths to bowl. Early there was a bit of swing. We put pressure on their spinners to bring the quicks on. But they (KKR) pulled back towards the end,” says comeback hero David Warner.

After 20 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 181/3 ( Vijay Shankar 40 , Manish Pandey 8)

SRH ends with 181 in 20 overs. 85 from Warner set them up for a big score. Few slow overs in the middle and fall of wickets derailed their innings but Shankar played a handy innings of 40 off 24 to take the visitors to 181/3.

FOUR! Slower in pace again from Ferguson and Shankar heaves it on the leg side and executes it to perfection, gets a boundary between deep mid-wicket and long-on

Ferguson to bowl the last over.

After 19 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 170/3 ( Vijay Shankar 31 , Manish Pandey 6)

Krishna done with his four overs. He almost got Shankar but DRS saved him. The next ball went for four runs. He has bowled well in the match. 31 runs for no loss. Last over to go. Let’s see how many SRH can get from this one.

FOUR! Ball tailing in and Manish Pandey clips it to the leg side between the square leg and short fine leg for a boundary

SIX! Wow, what a shot, slower one from Krishna, Shankar picks it early, makes room and with a swings it big and hits the ball easily over the long-on

Warner’s instant return to form not a surprise! 

Krishna back on.

After 18 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 158/3 ( Vijay Shankar 21 , Manish Pandey 5)

Russell cuts short Pathan’s stay in the middle. Slower delivery doing the trick. Manish Pandey played an upper cut which almost reached the third man fielder. A better effort from Kuldeep over there may have resulted into a wicket. Pandey hits last-ball boundary to show his intentions.

FOUR! Manish Pandey predicts the line of the ball, makes room and hits it between the covers and mid-off for a boundary

Manish Pandey, right handed bat, joins Shankar

OUT! CLEANED HIM UP, off-cutter from Russell and it did the trick as Pathan was early in the shot and missed it completely. The ball hit the off and middle stump. SRH a little off track now. Y Pathan b A Russell 1(4)

Russell continues.

After 17 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 149/2 ( Vijay Shankar 17 , Yusuf Pathan 1)

Ferguson back into the attack. Mixing it up well. Yusuf Pathan is the new man in and he needs to start hitting from the word go. Manish Pandey, who is an ideal No 4, has to wait as he takes time to get going. But Pathan has to do the job now. Three overs left in the innings and SRH has slowed down a little in the past few overs. They are still two runs short of 150.

Finally, a KKR fielder hangs on to a catch. And it is a brilliant take by Uthappa. Warner has to go back for 85. He deserved a hundred here. However, KKR needed his wicket going into the final four overs. Interestingly, Kuldeep still has couple of overs left. Though I don’t think he will complete his quota this evening. In all probabilities, Ferguson, Russell and Narine will finish things off for the hosts.

Ferguson back into the attack.

Yusuf Pathan, right handed bat, joins Shankar

After 16 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 144/2 ( Vijay Shankar 14 , )

Russell back into the attack and he gets rid off Warner. He has departed on 85 after hitting it straight to Uthappa at covers. Screamed after getting out and why not, he was just 15 short of a great comeback.

OUT! End of Warner as he creams it off the half-volley but hits it straight to Uthappa at the covers. The ball travelled at lightening speed but Uthappa held on to it.  Warner c Uthappa b A Russell 85(53)

SIX! Length ball and slow in pace, Warner hits it in line with stretch of arms for a straight flat six.

What a day he’s having so far! 

Russell back on.

After 15 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 134/1 ( David Warner 77 , Vijay Shankar 12)

Krishna back into the attack. Superb over from him in the circumstances. Just 5 off it. KKR would want others to better their game as well and put some pressure on SRH and hope for a wicket.

Krishna returns to the attack.

After 14 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 129/1 ( David Warner 75 , Vijay Shankar 10)

Narine is back. There is a new man at the crease but that makes no difference to the run-scoring rate as Shankar starts hitting exercise quickly without wasting any time.

SIX! Massive from Shankar, who sits and sweeps this fullish delivery from Narine over the deep mid-wicket boundary for a maximum.

Finally a breakthrough for KKR. Baristow perishes while going for quick runs. Chawla bowled the wrong ‘un, slowly and it castled the batsman. However, Baristow has done his job. 200 is well on the cards here.

Narine back on.

After 13 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 118/1 ( David Warner 74 , Vijay Shankar 0)

Finally, KKR have a wicket. The way Warner and Bairstow were going and the way KKR fielded, it did not seem the wicket will come any time soon. Chawla has provided the long-awaited wicket. Vijay Shankar joins Warner in the middle.

KKR’s sloppy day in the field continues. Another dropped opportunity. And this time it is the skipper who has let go a relatively easy chance. Overall, on the field and with the ball, KKR are looking a bit rusty today. Not the ideal start for them in the tournament.

OUT! KKR gets their first victim in form of Bairstow, who wanted to smash the googly from Chawla to deep mid-wicket but missed the faster one from Chawla and was clean bowled. Bairstow b Chawla 39(35)

FOUR! Poor stuff, short ball to in-form Warner, who clears leg and keeps head still, hits it to deep cover for a boundary

Chawla comes back into attack

After 12 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 112/0 ( David Warner 69 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 38)

Poor cricket so far from KKR. Karthik has dropped a catch now, the simplest one at that and this was Warner’s. This will hurt KKR.The next ball created an inside edge and ran away for a boundary. 11 runs came in this over.

FOUR! Inside edge off Bairstow’s bat runs away for a boundary to deep fine leg.

DROPPED! Karthik drops a simple catch behind the stumps, the ball clipped Warner’s gloves down the leg side and went to Karthik, who dropped it.

Ferguson back on

After 11 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 101/0 ( David Warner 64 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 33)

Bairstow getting on the move now. Hits a four and then wanted to go over the cover fielder. Gets a reprieve. KKR still in search of first wicket. Also, 100 up for SRH in the over. Things not looking too good for KKR.

DROPPED! Bairstow smashes it over the cover fielder where Shubman Gill was placed, he flew in the over, caught the ball but could not get hold of it and as he came down, he spilled it.

FOUR! Short ball and Bairstow cuts it square on the off side for a fine boundary

Nitish Rana, right-arm off break, brought into the attack

After 10 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 92/0 ( David Warner 62 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 26)

Kuldeep comes back on. Bairstow is taking his time at the other end. Most of the hitting currently done by Warner, who is not at all looking rusty by any means.

SIX! Warner has hit this right on the sight screen and the fielders could not do anything about it. A pickup shot really and bludgeoned so hard.

Kuldeep Yadav back on.

After 9 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 82/0 ( David Warner 54 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 24)

Russell into the attack now. Warner continues his good form, hits this one through the covers and Narine, at covers, tried but the ball was hit so hard that it hurt him on its way to the boundary. He is getting his finger checked. Warner, meanwhile has reached to his fifty. He is not over yet and is looking all set for a big one.

SIX! FIFTY for Warner!

Short ball, and going away from Warner, he slashes it over the third man region for a flat six! Gets to his fifty, first this season

So, Russell comes on. Karthik’s final trump card. Initially he was kept for the death overs. But with both Warner and Baristow going all guns blazing, it is desperate time for the home team. And desperate times call for desperate measures.

FOUR! Another cracking shot from Warner, he hits is hard through the covers for a boundary. There was a fielder at cover but that really made no difference.

Andre Russell, right-arm fast, brought into the attack

After 8 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 69/0 ( David Warner 42 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 23)

Narine continues and Bairstow hits him for a boundary this time. A better over from him through. Ball hits the pads on the last delivery of the over. Appeal turned down. Narine was interested but there is no DRS left to have a second look.

And what a start so far for the Aussie opener who’s making his IPL comeback, having missed the 2018 edition. 

Ok, so what is KKR’s Plan B here? Perhaps, bowling Narine and Kuldeep in tandem for next few overs. Maybe one or two overs from Nitish Rana as well.

FOUR! Bairstow scoops this one from Narine for a boundary, to deep fine leg, Cheeky but effective

Narine continues

After 7 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 62/0 ( David Warner 40 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 18)

It has not taken Warner a long time to settle down in this game. He scored runs briskly against pacers and now is at ease against the spin of Narine and Kuldeep. On this note, the teams go into strategic time out.

An excellent start already for Sunrisers’ newest opening pair. 

FOUR! Warner is not holding back here, this time reverse-sweeps it for a boundary to third man.

Kuldeep Yadav, left-arm chinaman, brought into the attack

After 6 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 54/0 ( David Warner 34 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 16)

First sight of Sunil Narine and he starts off with the off-spinners. But Warner again gets two boundaries in the over. This is a great start for him and for SRH. Fifty up for SRH at the end of first powerplay.

FOUR! Short ball and Warner rocks on back foot and pelts it away for a boundary to deep mid-wicket.

FOUR! Warner sits and sweeps and the ball defeats the short fine-leg, runs away for a boundary

Dinesh Karthik is losing the plot here. His strategies are too predictable at this point. As a result, SRH are off to a solid start. Now, the KKR skipper is forced to bowl his premier spinner Narine, inside the powerplay. A lot depends on how he and Kuldeep bowl here.

Sunil Narine, right-arm off break, into the attack

After 5 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 43/0 ( David Warner 25 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 14)

Lockie Ferguson into the attack now. Starts well but then again Warner shows his class, hits a boundary through the covers from nowhere. He was almost hit in the ribs on the earlier ball.

FOUR! His is getting into some form is Warner, low full toss and he slashes it between covers and point for a boundary

Manoj Tiwary has a word of advice for the home side. 

Lockie Ferguson, right-arm fast, brought into the attack

After 4 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 34/0 ( David Warner 19 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 11)

DRS saves Bairstow. The wrong’un from Chawla hit his pads and umpire raised the finger. The batsman straightaway went for DRS and the review suggested there was an inside edge. Hits a maximum two balls later to release all the pressure. 9 off this over as well.

SIX! Flighted delivery from Chawla, Bairstow shimmies down the wicket and hits it over the sight screen for a maximum

Chawla continues

After 3 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 25/0 ( David Warner 19 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 2)

Krishna continues and he is troubling Bairstow, who has missed a few and beaten. Takes a single and gives strike to Warner, who smashes boundary off the last ball. 9 off the over.

FOUR! Cracking shot from Warner, short ball, on the back foot and he pulls it away for a boundary to deep mid-wicket

Bowl full and straight to Warner early. That was the message to Prasidh Krishna in that first over. However, the execution was not right from the youngster. His line could have much straighter. 

Nevertheless, as expected KKR have given the new bowl to Piyush Chawla, like they did last year. He will probably bowl couple of overs inside the powerplay. Well, this can actually allow Warner to get into his grooves. I am not not exactly convinced about this move, especially when Ferguson is in the XI.

Krishna to continue

After 2 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 16/0 ( David Warner 12 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 0)

Spin from the other end in form of Piyush Chawla. Two boundaries in the over and then Chawla fires one into Warner, it hit the pads. Huge appeal, umpire turned it down. Karthik and Chawla were in a brief meeting before opting for DRS, the ball tracker said that the ball was was pitching outside the leg stump. Poor review.

Not the best way to begin one’s IPL journey. 

FOUR! Lovely shot again from Warner, another wrong’un and he clears his right leg out of the way and hits it through covers again.

FOUR! First boundary of the match for Warner, not that short from Chawla, wrong’un from him, Warner rocks back and smashes it through covers for a boundary

Piyush Chawla, right-arm leg break, to bowl from the other end

After 1 overs,Sunrisers Hyderabad 8/0 ( David Warner 4 , Jonny Bairstow (W) 0)

Prasidh Krishna starts off with a yorker to comeback man David Warner. These few overs will be crucial for Warner. He gets off to mark with a flick to fine leg as Krishna is consistently trying to target bowling fuller at his legs. Has bowled two wides. He is getting the shape but has not got the line right yet. And the first ball in IPL for Bairstow is a beamer. He evades it well. Next ball hits him right in the box. Shaky start for him in the tournament. 8 from the over.

Prasidh Krishna to bowl the first over.

Jonny Bairstow and David Warner walk out in the middle to open for SRH

So, the IPL carnival has reached Kolkata. On this hot and humid Sunday evening we have an exciting game in our hands at the Eden Gardens – clash of two of the most impressive bowling attacks in the tournament.

It has been an excellent toss to win for KKR and Karthik has no hesitation to chase here. We can expect a typical evenly paced Eden track here and batsmen will enjoy the bounce as the ball will come on to the bat. Also, keeping the pace and bounce of the track in mind. KKR have picked Lockie Ferguson ahead of the all-round option of Carlos Brathwaite. 

For, SRH, I am surprised that they haven’t gone for T20 specialist Aussie pacer Billy Stanlake. He could have been accommodated in the XI in place of Jonny Bairstow and Wriddhiman Saha would have kept wickets.

The wait prolongs…

KKR XI: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c), Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna

SRH XI: David Warner, Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar(c), Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul

Jonny Bairstow makes IPL debut for SRH!

Bhuvi’s first game as captain in IPL

Kane Williamson has not recovered and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in this game.

Toss report: Dinesh Karthik wins toss and KKR will bowl first

“This pitch is a bit two paced. Being a day game, we’ll see pace off the ball, and a bit of spin. Do not bowl into that slot (fuller length). Average first innings score is 175. You’ll see batsmen will have to bat well to make runs here,” says Michael Clarke in his pitch report.

In case you had trouble making your playing XI: 

Here are the full squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c), Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Nikhil Naik, Joe Denly, Shrikant Mundhe, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Harry Gurney, KC Cariappa and Yarra Prithviraj.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Willilamson (c), Manish Pandey, Martin Guptill, Ricky Bhui, David Warner, Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Nabi, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Abhishek Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Sreevats Gowsami, Jonny Bairstow, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Billy Stanlake, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem.

What’s your playing XI for both teams?

Here’s the full points table for the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) along with the current holders of the Orange and Purple Caps.

In a low scoring game where both teams are struggling to grab an inch, a minor tactical oversight can cost you the game. MS Dhoni was on the button with his every move. He read the pitch correctly and played an extra spinner. So sure was he of his winning combination that he played only three overseas players in the IPL opener. Here’s Rajesh Tiwary on the brilliance of MS Dhoni, the captain in last night’s game.

Overall, Kolkata’s variety and depth in the squad along with the strong home support promises an attractive brand of cricket from the franchise. Here’s a wholesome look at KKR’s team preview .

Incase you missed the action of the opening night of IPL 12, we have got you covered. Check out all the best moments from CSK vs RCB

All eyes on comeback man David Warner as Sunrisers Hyderabad lock horns with Kolkata Kinght Riders at Eden Gardens, read KKR v SRH match preview here

Hello everybody! Welcome to our over-by-over blog for the second game of the IPL 2019 between Kolkata Knight Riders versus the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

It is a Sunday, so obviously it is twice the fun, because it is a first double header of this edition.

We will bringing you all the Latest updates, Live scores accompanied with our text commentary and coverage from the journalists present in the Eden Gardens’ press box. Stay tuned.