Kolkata Knight Riders got their IPL 2019 campaign up and running at the Eden Gardens as they hosted Sunrisers Hyderabad. It proved to be the game that gave the tournament a much-needed boost after a sluggish opener. Andre Russell’s power striking overpowered David Warner’s comeback fifty as the hosts got off to a winning start.

IPL 2019 Match 2 KKR vs SRH Highlights

Going by the history of the venue, Dinesh Karthik opted to field after calling the right side of the coin drop. Bhuveneshwar Kumar led SRH in the absence of Kane Williamson who is still recovering from an injury. However, the visitors were boosted by the return of David Warner in the line-up. The Australian had a new opening partner Jonny Bairstow who made his IPL debut.

Warner’s majestic return

It didn’t take long for Warner to get going as he took full advantage of the powerplay. At the other end, Bairstow played the perfect foil for him as the duo added 54 runs in the powerplay. Warner announced his return by smashing some eye-catching boundaries. He brought up his fifty in the 9th over. After 12 overs, the score reached 112 without loss.

KKR finally found a breakthrough when Piyush Chawla castled Bairstow for 39 in the 13th over. Warner kept going and he was eyeing the three-figure mark. But unfortunately, his stay ended courtesy a brilliant catch by Robin Uthappa off the bowling of Andre Russell. The opener departed after scoring 85 from 53 balls that included 9 fours and 3 sixes.

The score 144/2 after 16 overs. Russell bagged another when he dismissed Yusuf Pathan for 1. Vijay Shankar then played a cameo of 40 from 24 balls that propelled SRH to 181/3 at the halfway stage.

Rana, Russell power KKR home

In the second innings, Bhuvneshwar began well by conceding just 1 run from the first over. Then he introduced Shakib Al Hasan against Chris Lynn. The opener struck him for a six but 3 balls later, got out for 7 runs. Nitish Rana and Uthappa then took control of the chase and took the score to 47/1 after 6 overs.

They kept the side in the hunt until Uthappa was dismissed by Siddharth Kaul in the 12th over for 35 as the stand of 80 runs ended. Sandeep Sharma then removed Dinesh Karthik for 2 in the next over. Rana was still out there and reached his half-century off 35 balls. He was shaping up for a big finish but Rashid Khan trapped him in front for 68 in the 16th over.

KKR needed 59 from the last overs that escalated later to 53 from 18 balls. Then, the beast Andre Russell came into his own and slammed 2 sixes and a four in Kaul’s 18th over that went for 19. He made it even better by collecting 21 runs from the penultimate over of Bhuvneshwar that included 2 sixes and as many fours. The hosts needed 13 from the last over. Shubman Gill then rose to the occasion when 11 runs were required from 5 balls. He smacked Shakib for a couple of sixes and sealed the game for his side.

IPL 2019 Match 2 KKR vs SRH Summary and Full Scorecard

KKR vs SRH Match 2 Summary

Sunrisers Hyderabad Innings Full Scorecard

Sunrisers Hyderabad- 181-3 (20 overs) Batsmen R B 4S 6S SR David Warner (c Uthappa b A Russell) 85 53 9 3 160.4 Jonny Bairstow (b Chawla) 39 35 3 1 111.4 Vijay Shankar (not out) 40 24 2 2 166.7 Yusuf Pathan (b A Russell) 1 4 0 0 25 Manish Pandey (not out) 8 5 1 0 160

Did not bat:- Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul

Bowlers O M R W WD NB Econ Prasidh Krishna 4 0 31 0 2 1 7.75 Piyush Chawla 3 0 23 1 0 0 7.67 Lockie Ferguson 4 0 34 0 0 0 8.5 Sunil Narine 3 0 29 0 0 0 9.67 Kuldeep Yadav 2 0 18 0 0 0 9 Andre Russell 3 0 32 2 0 0 10.67 Nitish Rana 1 0 9 0 0 0 9

Kolkata Knight Riders Innings Full Scorecard

Kolkata Knight Riders – 183-4 (19.4 overs) Batsmen R B 4S 6S SR Chris Lynn (c Rashid Khan b Shakib) 7 11 0 1 63.64 Nitish Rana (lbw b Rashid Khan) 68 47 8 3 144.7 Robin Uthappa (b S Kaul) 35 27 3 1 129.6 Dinesh Karthik (c Bhuvneshwar b Sandeep Sharma) 2 4 0 0 50 Andre Russell (not out) 49 19 4 4 257.9 Shubman Gill (not out) 18 10 0 2 180

Did not Bat:- Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna