IPL 2021: Kolkata's victorious start, defeating Hyderabad by 10 runs

After an aggressive half-century by Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi, the Kolkata Knight Riders have made a winning start to the 14th season of the Indian Premier League with the help of a superb performance from the bowlers. In the IPL-2021 match played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, Kolkata defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs. Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat first. With the help of Nitish Rana's 80 and Rahul Tripathi's immediate innings, Kolkata scored a strong 187 for six in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, Hyderabad managed to score 177 for five in 20 overs. Although Manish Pandey and Johnny Bairstow scored half-centuries, they could not give the team a victory. Manish Pandey scored an unbeaten 61 runs.

Captain Warner flop, Hyderabad's poor start

Sunrisers Hyderabad needed an aggressive start to reach the target of 188 runs. But Hyderabad's opening pair did not give the team a proper start. Hyderabad had a bad start. The pair of Riddhiman Saha and Captain David Warner failed. Riddhiman Saha was dismissed for seven. While Warner could only score three runs. The team lost both of them on 10 runs.

Half a century by Manish Pandey and Johnny Bairstow

Manish Pandey and Johnny Bairstow batted aggressively after both openers failed. The pair raised hopes of victory for the team. He had a 92-run partnership. Both batsmen completed their respective half-centuries. Johnny Bairstow was dismissed for 55 off 40 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes. However, half a century of these two batsmen was not enough to give the team a victory. Manish Pandey was unbeaten on 61 off 44 balls with the help of 2 fours and 3 sixes. Mohammad Nabi scored 14 and Vijay Shankar 11 runs. Abdul Samad was not out for 19 runs. Famous for Kolkata, Krishna was two wickets quick. Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins and Andre Russell had one success each.

Great start by Shubhaman Gill and Nitish Rana

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and invited Kolkata to bat first. The opening pair of Shubhaman Gill and Nitish Ranani gave Kolkata a great start. Rana and Gill shared a 53-run stand in 7 overs. However, Gill could not turn his good start into a big innings. Gill was bowled by Rashid Khan for 15 off 13 balls with the help of a four and a six.

Rahul Tripathi's aggressive half century

Rahul Tripathi came in to bat after Shubhaman was gilled out. Nitish Rana along with Rahul Tripathi accelerated the team's score. Rana and Rahul shared a 93-run stand for the second wicket. Rahul Tripathi batted hard and completed his half century. However, after scoring half a century, he did not last long at the crease. He hit 53 off 29 balls with five fours and two sixes.

Opener Nitish Rana's smashing batting

However, the main attraction of Kolkata's batting was the smashing of opener Nitish Rana. He along with Shubhaman Gill and Rahul Tripathi laid the foundation for a big score for the team. He completed his half century. He had a chance to complete the century but failed to do so. However, he put the team in a strong position before being out. Nitish Rana hit 80 off 56 balls with the help of 9 fours and 4 sixes. However, Andre Russell was dismissed for five and captain Eoin Morgan for two. But Dinesh Karthik hit an unbeaten 22 off 9 balls with the help of two fours and a six. For Hyderabad, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan took two wickets each. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Natarajan had one success each.