IPL 2023: Varun Chakravarthy’s final over heroics guide KKR to thrilling win over SRH – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been far from their best so far in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). But on Thursday, in their away game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the Knight Riders highlighted their ability to stage a strong comeback late in the game and stay calm under pressure to walk away with a narrow victory.

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The Knight Riders, after all, were entering this game on the back of a seven-wicket defeat against Gujarat Titans — their fifth defeat in six games — at home. Sunrisers, on the other hand, were the more confident of the two sides, having scrapped their way to a victory away from home over the Delhi Capitals in their last outing.

IPL 2023: KKR hold their nerve to defeat SRH in Hyderabad

IPL 2023: ‘Heartbeat was touching 200,’ reveals Varun Chakravarthy after bowling KKR to victory over SRH

KKR rode on contributions from Rinku Singh (46), skipper Nitish Rana (42) and all-rounder Andre Russell (24) to post a competitive 171/9 after being reduced to 35/3 in the powerplay.

They then had SRH on the mat at 54/4 before the South African pair of Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram came to the home team’s rescue with a game-changing partnership that put the ‘Orange Army’ in the driver’s seat. And with SRH needing 48 to win win off the last 36 deliveries with six wickets in hand and two well set batters at the crease, it appeared as if a second win on the bounce was all but assured for the Sunrisers.

Kolkata’s never-say-die attitude, which had been the hallmark of their famous win over GT in Ahmedabad earlier in the season, once again came to the fore in the form of a late fightback. It was the golden arm of Shardul Thakur that got rid of Klaasen, who had played the aggressor in the 70-run fifth-wicket stand with Markram, giving KKR a much-needed opening for them to claw their way back into the game.

Abdul Samad, a valuable finishing option down the order for the Sunrisers, joined Markram at the crease and SRH still had a shot at chasing the target down so long as Markram remained at the crease.

In came spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who had conceded 12 from his first over before being brought back in the death overs. The wily spinner built pressure on SRH by conceding just four singles in his second, forcing Markram to take a risk in the following over bowled by Vaibhav Arora, and holing out to Rinku Singh at long off to depart for a 40-ball 41.

Arora, a replacement for Narayan Jagadeesan, would strike again in his following over, this time wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz taking an excellent catch diving to his left to dismiss Marco Jansen for 1. The 25-year-old was a bit wayward in the remainder of the penultimate over though, conceding 11 off the next four deliveries including a no-ball, leaving SRH needing nine to win off six with Samad and Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the crease.

Skipper Rana had his doubts when it came to choosing between a seamer and a spinner for the final over, a decision that would be crucial to KKR’s chances of breaking into the top four and making it to the playoffs from the unlikeliest of positions.

Rana, however, decided to back leg-spinner Chakravarthy in a move that would be worth a million dollars.

““I had a doubt if I had to go with spinner/pacer and backed my spinner to do the job. I always see who is the best spinner on the game and that’s how I decide whom to back on the given day,” Rana said after the match.

Chakravarthy decided to bring his pace variations into play right away, firing a quicker delivery to Samad and following it up with a slower one to Bhuvi, with two coming off the first two. An under-pressure Samad then went for a wild heave off a short delivery from Chakravarthy, and ended up getting caught by Anukul Roy at deep midwicket, failing to get enough timing to clear the bigger boundary.

Though the momentum was firmly with the Knight Riders after Samad’s dismissal, Chakravarthy still had to maintain his calm and finish the job, especially with Bhuvi — quite handy with the bat himself — still at the crease. The Tamil Nadu spinner foxed new batter Mayank Markande for a dot first up, with the batter nearly getting stumped, before restricting him to a single off the fifth.

With SRH needing six to win off the final delivery, Chakravarthy decided to fire a quicker delivery measuring 109 clicks outside off to beat Bhuvneshwar’s swinging blade and cap off a match-winning performance that ultimately landed him the ‘Player of the Match’ award.

“My heartbeat was definitely touching 200 but I just wanted to challenge them on the longer end so that was my plan. Definitely the ball was slipping a lot and so my best bet was the longer side. That was the only thing in my mind.

“It’s very important to stay in the process. Once emotions set in, I might tend to get carried away and forget my process,” Chakravarthy said during the post-match presentation as the Knight Riders walked away with a fourth win in 10 outings.

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