Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) wrapped up their campaign in style with a dominant victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), delivering a performance that felt like sweet revenge for their heartbreak in last year’s IPL final.
The tone was set early by the SRH batters, with explosive contributions from Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen laying a strong foundation. Their aggressive approach ensured a towering total, placing KKR under immediate scoreboard pressure.
In response, KKR faltered with the bat. Despite brief sparks from Sunil Narine, Manish Pandey, and Harshit Rana, none of them could convert their starts into a match-winning knock — the highest score among them being a modest 37. The lack of a substantial partnership proved costly as SRH tightened the screws with a sharp bowling display.
The Sunrisers’ bowlers executed their plans to perfection, particularly with their clever use of slower deliveries. Eshan Malinga, Jaydev Unadkat, and Harshal Patel used variations with precision, stifling the KKR chase. The standout, however, was young Harsh Dubey, who once again made a strong impact as a substitute, finishing with an impressive three-wicket haul.
Backing up the bowlers was a sharp fielding unit that held on to every opportunity, turning half-chances into game-defining moments. The collective bowling and fielding effort ensured SRH completed a comprehensive win, closing out their season with pride and purpose.
Earlier in the first innings, a hundred from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Heinrich Klaasen and an fifty from Travis Head powered SRH to 278/3 in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 68th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. This is the third-highest total by any team in IPL history. Klaasen also registered the fastest hundred of the ongoing IPL in 37 balls.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
