SRH keep tryst with IPL crown
Kolkata: A brilliant all-round performance by Afghanistan import Rashid Khan propelled Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a dream final in Season 11 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.
In what was a fascinating advertisement for the shortest format of the game, Hyderabad defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their backyard by 13 runs after first posting 174 for the loss of seven wickets in IPL Qualifier 2.
Although, the host appeared to be inching towards a win, the arrival of Rashid Khan turned the tide.
Striking with regularity, he sent back three frontline batsmen to help Hyderabad keep tryst with destiny.
Carlos Brathwaite (2/16) and Siddarth Kaul 2/32) played their roles to perfection in the demolition job.
SRH will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the ultimate crown in what promises to be a super Sunday spectacle.
Earlier, Rashid Khan blunted chinaman Kuldeep Yadav's two crucial wickets in one over with an unbeaten 10-ball 34 cameo to propel Hyderabad score.
Coming in to bat when Sunrisers were still below par on 134/6, Afghanistan's Rashid smoked two fours and four sixes to stitch together a 36-run unbroken eighth wicket stand off 11 balls with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5 not out) as 74 runs came in the final six overs.
In the final over, Prasidh Krishna (0/56) conceded 24 runs with Rashid hitting a four and two sixes, his second one an exquisite flick over deep backward square leg.
Earlier in the eighth over, Kuldeep (2/29) removed in-form batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (34; 24b; 4x4, 1x6) and captain Kane Williamson (3) to expose Sunrisers' weak middle order as the visitors clawed to 79/2 in 10 overs.
The left-arm spinner was then involved in a run out off his own bowling to get rid of Shakib Al Hasan (28; 24b; 4x4) -- playing in place of Manish Pandey -- in the 16th over to further dent Sunrisers' endeavour.
Mystery spinner Sunil Narine (1/24) and leggie Piyush Chawla (1/22) were also good in the middle overs to throw a spanner in the works of their rivals.
The league leaders could never recover from there in the final few overs, until Rashid came to the party.
Stumper Wriddhiman Saha (35; 27b; 5x4) -- bought in the side in place of state-mate Sreevats Goswami -- was the top-scorer for the hosts. Saha was dropped by KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik when he was batting on 5 off Shivam Mavi (1/30).
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 174/7 in 20 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 35, Shikhar Dhawan 34, Rashid Khan 34no, Kuldeep Yadav 2/29) bt Kolkata Knight Riders 161-9 (Chris Lynn 48, Shubman Gill 30, Rashid Khan 3/19, Carlos Brathwaite 2/16, Siddarth Kaul 2/32).