Mumbai, Apr 15 (Cricket News) Sunrisers Hyderabad pacers controlled the innings for a large part before Nitish Rana and Andre Russell lifted Kolkata Knight Riders to a 175 for 8 in their IPL match here on Friday.

The Knight Riders lost three top-order batters cheaply inside the powerplay overs but recovered to some extent to post a decent total, thanks to Rana and Russel’s knocks of 54 and 49 not out, respectively.

The pacers — Marco Jansen (1/26), T Natarajan (3/37), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/37) and Umran Malik (2/27) accounted for the bulk of the wickets.

Opting to field, South African Jansen used the bounce and swing on offer really well to draw first blood as he sent Aaron Finch (7), who is playing his first match of the season, back to the hut in the second over. Natarajan then bowled a sensational fifth over, snaring two wickets.

Natarajan first bowled a brilliant length ball, pitching just outside off to account for Venkatesh Iyer (6), who looked unsettled during his stay, with the flamboyant Sunil Narine (6) following his teammate a couple balls later as KKR slumped to 31 for 3.

Kane Williamson introduced spin but left-armer Jagadeesha Suchith (1/32) looked rusty and struggled with his line.

Young Malik then struck twin blows, snapping the wickets of Shreyas Iyer (28) in the 10th over and Sheldon Jackson (7) as Sunrisers bowlers continued striking at regular intervals.

However, Rana kept the score board ticking, hitting singles and boundaries alike in his 36-ball knock.

Rana smashed six fours and two maximums. He was involved in 39-run stands with skipper Iyer and Russell each.

However, his stay in the middle was cut short by Natarajan in the 18th over as SRH broke the potentially dangerous partnership.

Russell, whose 25-ball innings was laced with four boundaries and as many six, including two in the final over. The West Indian helped KKR add 55 runs in the last five overs. 

Also Read : Sunrisers Hyderabad win toss, opt to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders

News Source : PTI