The third game of Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) It was played between the group led by Shreyas Iyer Calcutta Knights Riders (KKR) and Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday, March 23.
Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to play first in the match. They got off to a good start in the match as SRH’s bowling unit did a fantastic job and reduced the opposition to 51/4.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana were back in the hut after failing to contribute significant runs with the bat. The hosts came under tremendous pressure and looked like they were going to be eliminated on a low total.
Despite losing the top order, KKR had great batsmen like Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, who alone are game-changers. However, Chandrakant Pandit and Gautam Gambhir took a bold decision and promoted Ramandeep Singh up the order to join Phil Salt in the middle and stabilize the innings.
The KKR debutant did not disappoint at all as he played an attacking style of cricket and smashed the bowlers all over the park. He was involved in an incredible 54-run partnership with opening batsman Salt.
After the dismissal of Salt and Ramandeep, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell joined forces and annihilated the SRH bowling unit. Especially, Russell looked in beast mode and smashed some monster sixes. In the end, Kolkata Knight Riders posted a massive total of 208/7 on the board. Andre Russell smashed 64 runs off 25 balls, while Salt scored 54 runs off 40 balls. Also, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh scored 23 and 35 runs respectively. For Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the top performer in the bowling department was T Natarajan, who bagged three wickets for 32 runs.
Chasing the target, SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Mayank Agarwal gave their team a good start. Both batted cautiously and attacked from time to time. They were back at the cabin after doing identical runs: 32.
The dismissal of the openers led to the arrival of Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram in the middle. The duo tried to chip in with some runs but could not score quickly and were dismissed after scoring 20 and 18 runs respectively.
As the match progressed, the KKR team looked set to win, but that changed in the 19th minute when Heinrich Klaasen destroyed Mitchell Starc. Notably, the left-arm pacer was attacked for 26 runs, and that brought SRH back into the game.
In the last over, Shreyas Iyer handed the ball to Harshit Rana and showed nerves of steel as he defended 13 runs against the powerful SRH batsmen and guided his team to a 4-run win. Notably, the pacer was smashed for a six off the first ball but made an exceptional comeback.
Here’s how fans on X reacted after the KKR vs SRH IPL 2024 match:
Faith and determination until the end! #AmiKKR
— Gautam Gambhir (Modi Ka Parivar) (@GautamGambhir) March 23, 2024
Ye Cummins haarne wala script should have been used on November 19.
— Adults (@CSKian716) March 23, 2024
King Khan ki team hai dost, blockbuster thriller toh hona hee tha.#KKRvsSRH
– Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) March 23, 2024
warra script pic.twitter.com/WYoRxRA26a
— me (@4sacinom) March 23, 2024
हैर है के हैर के हैर के हैर हैं
— vishal dayama (@VishalDayama) March 23, 2024
Srh has lost 6 season openers in a row #ipl2024
-Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) March 23, 2024
Klassen is a weirdo! #KKRvsSRH
– Danish Sait (@DanishSait) March 23, 2024
He was trolled for his celebration but he knows his worth.
– Harshit Rana is here to stay. pic.twitter.com/xY4eTfzK25
—Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 23, 2024
KKR spent Mitchell Starc for 25 bloody crores so they could score a half-century in every game for them.
-Bhawana (@bhawanakohli5) March 23, 2024
There are many brilliant batsmen around the world, but is there anyone better than Klaasen in T20 cricket right now?
I don’t believe it 😯@IPL #kkrVSsrh
– Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) March 23, 2024
What a game… Klassen is a special white ball player!
—Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 23, 2024
Welcome to IPL Pat Cummins.
It is not easy to win international trophies here. #KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/WLKSmCQcrr
– Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) March 23, 2024
Oh boy! What a biting ending!! 🔥 What an over for Harshit Rana to come back after that 6 and take @KKRiders home!! Exceptional 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
– Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) March 23, 2024
Harshit Rana’s composure in the last over by a young Indian fast bowler was a marvel to witness. Well done KKR.
—Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 23, 2024
Harshit Rana has nerves of steel.
-Dhaval Patel (@CricCrazy0) March 23, 2024
Harshit Rana: Suitable Student of Gautam Gambhir Academy 💯#KKRvSRK pic.twitter.com/mYzWoWmX0z
– Cheemrag (@itxcheemrag) March 23, 2024
A brilliant entrance from Salt, super complete show by @Russell12A a phenomenal bowling performance from Harshit Rana, a crazy innings from Klassen to #SRH and then a game-changing catch from Suyash Sharma for #KKR! An absolute nail-biter! Crucial victory for @KKRiders!
But Starc? 🤔… pic.twitter.com/LD2p54mTiu
– MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) March 23, 2024
Ye Cummins haarne wala script should have been used on November 19.
— Adults (@CSKian716) March 23, 2024