IPL 2017 Eliminator: Gautam Gambhir’s sensible knock takes KKR to qualifier in a rain-affected match, SRH crashes out

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad crashed out of the Indian Premier League season 10 after they suffered a 7-wicket defeat at the hands of Gautam Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders

By: Karan Nanda |
May 18, 2017 2:04 am

Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) crashed out of the Indian Premier League season (IPL) season 10 after they suffered a 7-wicket defeat at the hands of Gautam Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders in a rain- curtailed eliminator encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on early May 18.

Earlier bowling first, KKR bowlers displayed superb strength in the bowling department as they restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to 128/7 in their quota of 20 overs. For Sunrisers, none of their batsmen could score a half century. SRH skipper David Warner top-scored for his team with 37 runs off 35 balls.

For KKR, Nathan Coulter-Nile was the pick of the bowlers, picking 3 for 20. While Umesh Yadav claimed 2 for 21. Soon after Hyderabad’s innings, heavy showers delayed the start of the second innings by over 2 hours.

When the game resumed, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan co-owned KKR received the revised target of 48 in 6 overs. While chasing, KKR struggled a bit as they lost 3 wickets of Chris Lynn, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa in quick succession.

But, skipper Gautam Gambhir held his nerve with a bat to guide his team to a superb win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR chased down the revised 48-run target with 7 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare.

Kolkata Knight Riders will now face Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League 10 on May 19 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The winner of the Qualifier 2 will face Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL 2017 Final which is scheduled to be held at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on May 21.