Bowlers and Shubman Gill boost KKR's playoffs chances
The Sunrisers bowlers made a good fist of defending 115, with the debutant Umran Malik particularly impressive
The Sunrisers bowlers made a good fist of defending 115, with the debutant Umran Malik particularly impressive
Scorer: Chandan Duorah | Commentator: Sreshth Shah
That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo. The IPL gets so interesting as we enter the last few matches. See you tomorrow for more cricket - till then, it's goodbye!
Shubman Gill, Player of the Match: "It was important to keep wickets in hand early. And then to go for it when the runs got closer. You see the wicket and then you choose your match up. To hit spinners on this surface isn't easy. I was targeting the shorter side mostly. I didn't have much runs under my belt. And if you play one bad shot in a low-scoring game the opposition can come back. So the batsman needs to try and take the game home. When you play in North India, wickets are not as bouncy. You play with the wrists a lot. So I use them a lot. Umran Malik was definitely quick."
Winning captain Eoin Morgan: "Yes the chase was tricky. I thought it was sluggish if anything. The wicket is one thing but you need to adapt to conditions - bowl well, field well. We did that well, vast improvement from two days ago. Gill was very good. (Shakib) Massive. To have the strength and depth to call upon an experienced campaigner like him is a luxury. He's had a huge impact today. As a group, nearly two years ago, we thought we'd play in India. And since then we've just been countering that. Having missed out playoffs last year, we knew our squad is reasonable. We are focused on playing good cricket. We've played really really good cricket - attitude, implementation of game plan."
Jaykumar: "Practically, Punjab is also out of the competition, now! " -- Practically out, but technically still in. A magnificent victory + massive defeats for other teams will take them through. But indeed, it is mathematical.
Dinesh Karthik (18* off 12): "Very happy. We knew the chase would be slightly tricky. We were at a stage when I could play my shots when I walked in. It was good that Rana did not try to match Gill shot by shot. Fingers crossed."
Kane Williamson, losing captain: (Par score) Around 150. It was tough work bowling defending a low total. We've been working hard and it just hasn't been paying off. When we got to the last 3-4 overs with the bat, we wanted to have a crack and get 150. Hindsight is beautiful, honestly we wish we had some partnerships. That's part and parcel of the game - trying to identify what a competitive total will be. We've been facing Malik in the nets - he's special, lots of pace. Young guy runs in and goes hard."
9.25pm Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan see it through. Fate still in the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders. The Net Run Rate keeps getting better, and a win in their last game against Rajasthan Royals will mostly see them through as the fourth team to qualify.
But the chase wasn't simple. The Sunrisers had kept the Knight Riders very quiet during the chase, but then Shubman Gill broke the shackles just when nerves were beginning to pop up in the KKR camp. He finished with 57 - a crucial innings to anchor the team through the chase.
Credit also to the Knight Riders bowlers - 58 runs in 12 overs between the spinners, and important wickets from Shivam Mavi and Tim Southee. This is how the points table looks.
Nervous faces in the KKR camp. Sunrisers camp is smiling - not much stress for them.
Imad_r: "Great game awareness by DK, declining the run on that Rana dismissal so that he can have the strike next over and not a new batsman"
Venkat: "Any one considered Jonny Bairstow for retention" -- Lovely choice.
"The longer you go without contributing a significant score, the closer you are to actually contributing. And that's coming from experience"
Get your dose of stats, colour and analysis on Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad on ESPNcricinfo's live blog
The Sunrisers bowlers made a good fist of defending 115, with the debutant Umran Malik particularly impressive
Knight Riders have an iffy middle-order, but they also have Shakib Al Hasan waiting for his turn