KKR vs SRH | Mitchell Starc’s brilliance blended with dual Iyer fifties seal final berth for KKR in Ahmedabad

Known for their terrific first innings scores, Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. However, this decision backfired as they lost star opener Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma within the powerplay, leaving the score at a precarious 21/2 after just three overs. The Purple Army was at their best with the ball, thanks to Mitchell Starc's exceptional performance taking a three-fer in the powerplay. The Aussie speedster dismissed Head in the first over and then wreaked havoc by removing Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed, reducing Hyderabad to 45/4 by the end of the powerplay. Heinrich Klaasen and Rahul Tripathi steadied the innings, building a crucial 53-run partnership and lifting the score to 92/4 after 10 overs. Tripathi played a brilliant knock, scoring a 29-ball fifty that helped bring the team to a respectable position after a dreadful start. Just as the partnership was flourishing, Varun Chakaravarthy broke through by dismissing Klaasen in the 11th over. The setbacks continued as Tripathi was run out in the 14th over, with Sanvir Singh also departing in the same over. The batting woes deepened when Abdul Samad failed to contribute significantly, leaving the team at 125/8 in 15 overs. Despite the continuous fall of wickets, SRH skipper Pat Cummins played a vital cameo of 30 off 24 deliveries, helping the 2016 IPL champions reach a total of 159 in 19.3 overs with the team bundling out. 

Kolkata Knight Riders openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine had a blazing start cruising the scorecard to 44/0 in three overs. However, the Afghan wicket-keeper batter failed to keep going and departed in the fourth over. Meanwhile, Narine and Venkatesh Iyer carried the KKR batting forward and put 63/1 by the end of the powerplay. However, Pat Cummins came in the seventh over and took the important wicket of Narine who departed scoring 21 off 16 deliveries. However, the 29-year-old Madhya Pradesh batter looked great and scored a 28-ball fifty. Additionally, Shreyas Iyer left no stone unturned in wasting much time and alongside Venkatesh, the duo charged the scorecard to 119/2 in 11 overs. The duo ultimately finished the game in 13.4 overs winning the contest by eight wickets. With the win, the Knight Riders reached the finals of the tournament slated to be played on the 26th of May in Chennai. Sunrisers Hyderabad will now play Qualifier 2 against the winners of the Eliminator game between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.