Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets to make a winning start to their IPL campaign at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

Earlier, David Warner made a roaring comeback to the IPL by cracking a stroke-filled 85 as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 181/3 in 20 overs. Warner, whose 53-ball 85 was laced with nine fours and three sixes, looked in the zone from the word go and brought up his 37th IPL fifty off 31 just balls with an upper cut over third man off Andre Russell in the ninth over.

Jonny Bairstow, in because Kane Williamson not fit yet, steady support to Warner. He adjusdged lbw off Chawla for just two but replays showed he got an inside edge. From then on, he played second fiddle perfectly as Hyderabad 54 in the Power Play. Kuldeep Yadav was ineffective as well, as Hyderabad raced past 100 in 11 overs.

The breakthrough finally came when Chawla bowled Bairstow for 39 off 35. Warner too fell soon after, missing his century when he drove Andre Russell to Uthappa at extra cover. The scoring rate took a hit when Russell got Yusuf Pathan cheaply. But Vijay Shankar hit a few lusty blows and remained unbeaten on 40 off 24 to take Hyderabad past 180.

Chasing 182, Kolkata needed 68 off 30 at one stage, which soon became 57 off 18. Russell smashed four sixes and as many fours en route a 19-ball 49* to literally power them home. Nitish Rana had earlier played his part with a 47-ball 68 while David Warner’s 53-ball 85 went in vain.

Kolkata’s chase started with Chris Lynn hitting Shakib Al Hasan for a straight six but the bowler had the final laugh, making Lynn miscue to cover. From there on, it was a case of preserving wickets for the end while ensuring the required run-rate didn’t go out of control.

Nitish Rana, who promoted to opening the batting, took use of the opportunity with a well paced knock. Robin Uthappa, returning after an injury lay off, seemed in fine touch too as Kolkata got 47 runs in the Power Play. He should have been out on 18, but Yusuf Pathan dropped a sitter at long-off off Rashid Khan’s bowling.

Kolkata needed 57 in the last three overs. But the game done because Russell just about getting himself in. He unleashed himself on Siddarth Kaul in the 18th over, which went for 18 runs.

The next over was crucial, for the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only one who could stop Russell. That didn’t happen; instead, Russell sent him for 21, bringing the equation down to 13 off 6.

Hyderabad had the option of bowling Vijay Shankar, who hadn’t bowled in the game, but they went with Shakib Al Hasan. Shubman Gill made light work of the remaining runs, smashing a couple of sixes to end a stunning game. Kolkata won by 6 wkts.

Score Summary:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 183/4(19.4) ( Nitish Rana 68, Russell 49,

Rashid Khan 26/1)



Sunrisers Hyderabad : 181/3 (20.0) ( David Warner 85, Andre Russell 32/2)