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IPL 2021, Live Cricket Score, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Right, 21 off six. The game is in KKR’s pocket unless Russell bowls a horrible over here. And he keeps it tight, barring the final delivery which sailed over mid-wicket for a maximum. Nevertheless, KKR have the last laugh. They beat SRH by 10 runs.
Preview: Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders and David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad will lock horns at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai with renewed hopes of winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title.
KKR narrowly missed out on a playoff spot after finishing fifth in the standings, level on points with fourth-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore but with a lesser net run-rate. Meanwhile, SRH made the playoffs last season, where they lost to eventual finalists Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 2. They had beaten RCB in the Eliminator. This will be Eoin Morgan’s first full season as KKR skipper, after having taken over captaincy duties from Dinesh Karthik midway through the previous season in the UAE. KKR have largely retained their core group with the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, while also purchasing the likes of veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh and Karun Nair. They have also welcomed back Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, who was part of the Kolkata-based side’s title victories in 2012 and 2014. His presence will add an all-round dimension to the squad. Despite losing captaincy last season, Dinesh Karthik will continue to be a key finisher, while Shubman Gill will look to get things going by opening the batting. KKR have also retained the likes of Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana among a few others. Meanwhile, Sunrisers, like KKR, retained most of their squad, while acquiring the likes of Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Kedar Jadhav and bowler Jagadeesha Suchith (Rs 20 lakh). David Warner’s side are aiming to lift their second IPL title, having previously won in 2016 after beating RCB. They did reach the final again in 2018, only to lose to CSK by eight wickets. The biggest boost for SRH will be the return to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who missed most of last season due to a thigh injury. He eventually missed India’s tour of Australia that followed, but came back strongly in the limited-overs series against England at home, picking up 10 wickets across both ODIs and T20Is. His experience will be crucial for SRH. Squads: Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun CV, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi. Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (Captain), Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Virat Singh, Mitchell Marsh, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Jagadeesha Suchith, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman.