Sunrisers beat Knight Riders to keep IPL dream alive

Omnisports

May 25, 2016 4:14 AM

Yuvraj Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar played crucial roles as Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their IPL dreams alive with victory over Kolkata.

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Sunrisers Hyderabad will face Gujarat Lions for a place in the Indian Premier League final after beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 22 runs on Wednesday.

After seeing their form dip prior to the play-offs, the Sunrisers got back to winning ways at the perfect time thanks to a disciplined display in the field at Feroz Shah Kotla.

Captain David Warner and star batsman Yuvraj Singh had helped Hyderabad reach 162-8 off their 20 overs, a total they were comfortably able to defend in Dehli.

Three wickets for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-19) and two for Moises Henriques (2-17) – who also scored 31 with the bat – helped stifle Kolkata as they came up short in their quest for a third title, finishing up on 140-8.

Warner (28) and Henriques gave the Sunrisers early momentum with the bat as they shared a 59-run stand for the second wicket, the latter seizing control with two maximums.

The Australian duo fell in successive balls to Kuldeep Yadav (3-35) but Yuvraj ensured they did not suffer a middle-order collapse with a quick-fire 44 that included eight boundaries.

Two sixes from Bipul Sharma at the start of the over boosted their total, the long-off boundary cleared on both occasions by the number nine on his way to 14 from six deliveries.

Kolkata – who had beaten Sunrisers twice in the regular season – made a steady start to their reply but lost wickets at regular intervals to hinder their progress.

Manish Pandey (36) and Suryakumar Yadav (23) tried valiantly to keep them in touch with a 46-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but ultimately it was not enough.

As the run-rate rose the pressure became too much for the Knight Riders and Hyderabad were able to clinch victory and keep their hopes of meeting Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final alive.

Omnisports