Good afternoon and welcome to Sportstar 's live blog of the Indian Premier League clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad being played at the Eden Gardens .
Nitish Rana kept KKR in the hunt with a brilliant 68 but his dismissal threatened to sway the momentum in SRH's favour until a 19-ball 49 from Andre Russell blew the Sunrisers away. The Caribbean hammered four boundaries and four sixes and was aptly supported by young Shubman Gill who wrapped up the 182-run chase with twin sixes.
◙ Russell has tilted the scales in KKR's favour by collecting 19 off Siddarth Kaul's 18th over; two back-to-back sixes followed by a boundary have kept KKR in the hunt. KKR 148/4 in 18 overs.
◙ The slight delay in play has worked in favour of SRH which has picked up the priced wicket of in-form Rana. And it's Rashid Khan, who finally gets him name on the wickets column; traps the southpaw in front as KKR loses its fourth wicket. BIG MOMENT in the match! KKR 118/4 in 15.3 overs.
PLAY HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED DUE TO FLOODLIGHT FAILURE. If DLS is used — highly unlikely — SRH is 8 runs ahead.
◙ The slower one does the trick for Sandeep, who has Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik caught. Meanwhile, Rana brings up his sixth IPL fifty off 35 balls. KKR 97/3 after 13 overs.
◙ Siddarth Kaul gets the all important breakthrough, cleans up Uthappa as KKR loses its second wicket. KKR needs 95 to win in eight overs. Uthappa and Rana added 80 for the second wicket. KKR 87/2 after 12 overs.
◙ With the required run-rate hovering around 10, the duo takes on Shakib Al-Hasan. Uthappa hammers Shakib over deep square-leg for his first six before Rana smacks one over cow-corner as KKR collects 15 off Shakib's third over. The partnership is now worth 78 off 54 balls. KKR 85/1 after 11 overs.
◙ DROPPED! Oh Yusuf Pathan, what have you done? The all-rounder drops a dolly and Uthappa survives. Rana rubs salt in the wound by bringing up the fifty run stand between the two with a boundary off the next ball. KKR 60/1 after 8 overs.
◙ Rana and Uthappa have added 40 for the second wicket to guide KKR to 47 at the end of the Powerplay. KKR 47/1 after six overs.
◙ Nitish Rana is making the most of the opportunity to open the innings. He has taken a liking to seamer Sandeep Sharma, carting him for a boundary and a six as KKR continues to erase the deficit in a canter. KKR 30/1 after 4 overs.
◙ Tidy start from Bhuvneshwar as he concedes just one off his first over. KKR has gone with a new opening partner for Lynn in Nitish Rana. Shakib Al Hasan, left-arm orthodox, sharing the new ball and is dismissed over long-on by Lynn for the first maximum of KKR's innings before being cramped for room and offering a simple catch to Rashid Khan. KKR 7/1 after 2 overs.
Welcome back. Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana will get the chase underway; skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the new ball.
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INNINGS BREAK: David Warner and Jonny Bairstow put on an 118-run opening stand before debutant Bairstow was cleaned up by Chawla. That didn't deter Warner, who scored a brilliant 85 off 53 balls including nine boundaries and three sixes as Sunrisers racked up 181/3 in 20 overs. It was helped by Vijay Shankar's 24-ball 40. For KKR, Andre Russell returned figures of two for 32. KKR needs 182 to win.
◙ Russell strikes again; this time it's Yusuf Pathan who loses his stumps trying to up the ante. Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey have the task of taking SRH as close to 200 as possible. Shankar has looked good during his brief stay, hammering 31 off 20 balls including two sixes and a boundary. SRH 170/3 after 19 overs.
◙ CAUGHT! Warner has absolutely creamed that off the middle of his bat but finds Robin Uthappa, who takes a brilliant catch at covers. Warner falls 15 shy of a comeback 100. SRH 144/2 after 16 overs.
◙ STOP THE PRESS : KKR has a breakthrough at last and it is a googly that does the job for Piyush Chawla. Bairstow is cleaned up 11 shy of a maiden IPL fifty. SRH 118/1 after 13 overs.
◙ RECORD ALERT: Warner and Biarstow continue to pile misery with a 100-run stand. This is SRH's eight century opening stand and Warner has been involved in seven of them! Bairstow, at the other end, is inching closer to his fifty as well. SRH 101/0 after 11 overs.
◙ RECORD ALERT : Warner now has the maximum number of IPL fifties (37) breaking his tie with Gautam Gambhir (36). He got to the landmark with a maximum off Russell. The duo has pressed foot on the pedal and the KKR bowlers, seamers and spinners alike, are still searching for that elusive breakthrough. SRH 82/0 after 9 overs.
◙ Warner is growing in confidence as the innings wears on. He has taken on KKR's most economical spinner, Sunil Narine, and tonked him for two successive boundaries as SRH raced past 50 in the Powerplay. SRH 54/0 after 6 overs.
◙ Chawla is taking a pounding at the hands of Sunrisers openers. After Warner, it's Bairstow who joins the fun by dispatching a half-volley over the bowler's head for six. Earlier in the over, Bairstow was adjudged lbw but the Three Lions batter reviewed immediately and the call was vindicated with replays showing the ball brushing the edge of the bat. SRH 34/0 after 4 overs.
◙ Warner in his elements as he punches two boundaries off one Piyush Chawla over. KKR, on the other hand, has lost a review . Chawla's googly beat Warner's flick and struck him on the pads but the ball was pitching outside the line of leg-stump and the umpire was never going to give that out. SRH 16/0 after 2 overs.
◙ A tight first over from Prasidh Krishna sees Sunrisers collect eight runs. Prasidh has got the new ball to swing back into Warner but the line down leg side meant Warner was at an arm's length from any trouble. Meanwhile, the Karnataka seamer has been warned for hurling a beamer at Bairstow. An eventful over that. SRH 8/0 after 1 over.
Debutant Jonny Bairstow will open the innings with David Warner; Prasidh Krishna to start proceedings with the new ball.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): David Warner, Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar(c), Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna
TOSS UPDATE
Dinesh Karthik has won the toss and inserted Sunrisers in to bat.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: " I am glad they chose me to captain the side. If you look at the team, there are players like Warner and Shakib who can help me. With Warner at the top it's always good."
Dinesh Karthik: " We are looking to bowl first. The wicket will play pretty even throughout, so we want to chase. We are looking forward to put up a good performance. It's important we take one game at a time, as it's a long tournament."
PITCH REPORT
Michael Clarke: It's a two-paced wicket; there will be pace off the ball and spin will play a role. The average first-innings total batting first last year was 175 and that will be a good score this time too.
Andre Russell (KKR): "We have a few young lads in our team. They may be in their early 20s but based on what they have done in the past, we bank on them to come good. I'll just look to do what I do best — score runs at the death and with the crowd behind us, we hope to win."
David Warner (SRH): "It was great seeing the SunRisers reach the finals last year. The key, of course, was winning those close encounters; we scrapped past the finishing line. It's the inherent fight which holds us in good stead."
3.09 pm:The toss is less than half an hour away , and the two teams can be seen warming up at the Eden Gardens. KKR has already been plagued by a series of injuries, prompting it to sign pacer Sandeep Warrier and spinner K.C. Cariappa. Meanwhile, Sunrisers will be bolstered by the return of David Warner.
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We are less than an hour away from the toss and the Knights are en route to the stadium ✌ ️
◙ The Dinesh Karthik-led KKR has imported four overseas pacers to boost its campaign in IPL 12. Can it go all the way this season? Y.B. Sarangi with the team preview| KKR: A well-rounded team
◙ "I like to bowl at him and I feel like I can get him out"
Kuldeep had remarked when asked about his dominant record over David Warner in 2017. Warner was Kuldeep's maiden Test wicket in Dharamsala. In the IPL, Kuldeep has dismissed Warner four times for just 49 runs. Who will come out on top today?
◙ What has been the highest successful run chase in an IPL final? Think you know the right answer? As we await the start of the match in Kolkata, why don't you put your thinking caps on and try your luck at our Indian Premier League quiz? | IPL 2019 Quiz — Set 1
Evenly matched on paper, KKR and SRH will look to get off to a winning start in the twelfth edition of IPL. Here's Amitabha Das Sharma's preview of this afternoon's contest:
KKR, Sunrisers eye winning start
Former champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to test its proven arsenal in spin attack as it takes on last year’s the runner-up Sunrisers Hyderabad to start the campaign in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League, here at the Eden Gardens on Sunday afternoon. This looks to be one aspect standing out in a fight which is likely to see contests on many fronts.
The visitor will be strengthened by the comeback of David Warner, the name that has created the greatest impact in the side in the past few seasons. The Australian batsman guided the side to the title in 2016 as he continued to be the leading run-maker for his side till the moment he was banned from international cricket following the ball-tampering controversy.
RELATED| IPL 2019: Full coverage
Warner seems to have weathered the suspension as he scored a breezy century for his Sydney-based club Randy Petes to signal his return. While Warner’s return to the side is boosting the spirit of the visitor, it looked a bit down with the news of its captain Kane Williamson likely to miss the match with an injury .
The overall history of rivalry of the two sides gives the host an en edge. The KKR has won nine of the 15 meetings between the sides while Sunrisers has won six. What will be cheering the visitor is the fact that it has won the last two matches played at the Eden Gardens.
Sunrisers coach Tom Moody indicated the possibility of Williamson missing the match with vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking up the leadership. Kumar will be leading the pace department of the Sunrisers’ attack while Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan will be looking to revive the three for 19 form that helped the Sunrisers overturn the Knights in its home in the Qualifier 2 last year.
The Eden Gardens pitch having “altered drastically” over the past few seasons will be prompting the opponents put in some thought in picking up their foreigners.
The host captain Dinesh Karthik will be looking to conserve the core of the side that sees the team’s bowling attack led by the West Indian off-spinner Sunil Narine. Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla complete the spin triumvirate on which the host pins its hopes. This season KKR strengthened the side getting the West Indian all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite to join the likes of Andre Russell, Chris Lynn and Lockie Ferguson in the foreign department.
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