Video of Match Highlights: KKR vs SRH

KKR vs SRH, 03 October 2021, 7:30 PM IST

Match Result: KKR won by 6 wickets

Player of the Match: Shubman Gill

Match Report: A 190 chased down with 15 balls to spare, and a 116 chased down in the final over within 24 hours of each other. Think you’ve decoded the conditions in the UAE for the World Cup? Think again. And again. KKR started off conservatively, and dropped anchor after the early loss of Iyer and Tripathi.

Rana struggled at the crease against the pace of Umran in particular, but Gill took it upon himself to accelerate, making up for Rana’s off-day. Despite losing Gill at an unfortunate moment, Karthik came in and played a crucial cameo to finish things off for the Knight Riders and take the his side home.

What the Captains said: 

Kane Williamson | SRH (losing) captain: I think if we got closer to the 150-mark, might have been par. We did have our chances to squeeze the scoring but it was always going to be tough with such a low score. We haven’t been able to identify the right score all season. We need to go back to the drawing board and re-assess things. We could have built more partnerships.

Unfortunately we were 10-15 short of what would have been a competitive score. He (Malik) has been bowling really quick in the nets and it’s really nice for him to get an opportunity today. Obviously we’re out of the competition, so it’s a chance for some other boys to also get on the park.

Eoin Morgan | KKR (winning) captain: The wicket played slower than we thought, than the wicket two nights ago. It swings early in the powerplay in these conditions, but it was sluggish. We needed to bowl and field well and we did. Shubman played extremely well and led the chase. The depth of the squad to be able to call Shakib is a huge luxury, so he has had a huge impact.

We didn’t know it wouldn’t be played in India, and we have done well in the conditions and adapted well. We are focussed on playing good cricket and we’ve done that in the last three weeks. The game plan has had a good impact in the dressing room and guys are putting their hands up. We have done well to adapt to the slow conditions and I’m happy with that.

Shubman Gill on being awarded Man of the Match

“It was important to keep the wickets in hand, and when the balls and runs were closer then just take it easy. It was important to assess the wicket. It wasn’t easy to hit the spinners on this wicket. I was targeting the shorter side, and the leg-side was shorter than the off-side at one end.

When I didn’t have much runs under the belt, you don’t want the opposition to gain the upper hand. When you play on slower wickets, it’s more important to play with the wrists and that comes naturally to me. I took on the extra pace (of Umran) today and it came off in this game, but in another game it might not.”

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