IPL 2022: KKR vs SRH: Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram fifties, bowlers give SRH three wins on the trot

Mumbai, April 15: Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram hit sublime half-centuries as Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their third win on the bounce as the Kane Williamson-led side hammered Kolkata Knight Riders by 7-wickets in IPL 2022 here on Friday (April 15). With this win, SRH secured their first win over KKR after 2020.

Chasing a competitive target of 176, SRH cruised home in style as they reached home with 13 balls to spare. Tripathi (71 off 37) and Markram (68* off 36) kept scoring at a decent pace all through the innings and never allowed KKR bowlers a chance. The duo shared a 96-run-partnership for the third wicket and set the tone for SRH in the run chase.

After Tripathi was dismissed, Markram ensured his team doesn't falter in the run chase and the star South Africa batsman then shared a quick fifty-run partnership with Nicholas Pooran of which the latter scored just 4 runs.

KKR's mystery spin twins, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, failed to pose any threat to the SRH batters and credit for the same goes to Tripathi who attacked Chakravarthy at will. Narine was economical but SRH batters played him cautiously and didn't let him succeed.

Earlier in the day, SRH pacers controlled the innings for a large part before Nitish Rana and Andre Russell lifted Kolkata Knight Riders to a 175 for 8. The Knight Riders lost three top-order batters cheaply inside the powerplay overs but recovered to some extent to post a decent total, thanks to Rana and Russel's knocks of 54 and 49 not out, respectively.

The pacers - Marco Jansen (1/26), T Natarajan (3/37), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/37) and Umran Malik (2/27) accounted for the bulk of the wickets. Opting to field, South African Jansen used the bounce and swing on offer really well to draw first blood as he sent Aaron Finch (7), who is playing his first match of the season, back to the hut in the second over.

Natarajan then bowled a sensational fifth over, snaring two wickets. Natarajan first bowled a brilliant length ball, pitching just outside off to account for Venkatesh Iyer (6), who looked unsettled during his stay, with the flamboyant Sunil Narine (6) following his teammate a couple of balls later as KKR slumped to 31 for 3.

Kane Williamson introduced spin but left-armer Jagadeesha Suchith (1/32) looked rusty and struggled with his line. Young Malik then struck twin blows, snapping the wickets of Shreyas Iyer (28) in the 10th over and Sheldon Jackson (7) as Sunrisers bowlers continued striking at regular intervals. However, Rana kept the scoreboard ticking, hitting singles and boundaries alike in his 36-ball knock.

Rana smashed six fours and two maximums. He was involved in 39-run stands with skipper Iyer and Russell each. However, his stay in the middle was cut short by Natarajan in the 18th over as SRH broke the potentially dangerous partnership. Russell, whose 25-ball innings was laced with four boundaries and as many sixes, including two in the final over. The West Indian helped KKR add 55 runs in the last five overs.

(With PTI inputs)