IPL 2024, KKR vs SRH: Russell, Harshit shine as Kolkata breathe easy after thriller

Andre Russell took fans down memory lane at the Eden Gardens with a sensational show of six-hitting.

Sunil Narine rolled back the years, choking the Sunrisers Hyderabad batters, returning to his miserly best. The old warhorses of Kolkata Knight Riders put on a show for their former captain Gautam Gambhir, who was back at the KKR dugout, this time as the mentor of the 2-time champions. The two West Indies stars stepped up along with a 22-year-old local pacer in Harshit Rana to help the Knight Riders beat SunRisers in a last-over thriller and begin their season with an 4-run win on Saturday, March 23.

412 runs were scored, 29 sixes were hit as the first match at the iconic Eden Gardens lived up to the hype with several memorable performances, the most notable ones coming from the likes of Andre Russell and Heinrich Klaasen. Russell hit a 25-ball 64 and picked up 2 wickets to make sure he proved his naysayers wrong and sent a warning notice to the rest of the world ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.

Kolkata Knight Riders stormed to the third spot in the IPL 2024 points table after holding their nerves in the paisa-vasool contest that went down the wire. Led by World Cup-winning Pat Cummins, the SunRisers looked out of sorts for most of the contest until Heinrich Klaasen and local boy Shahbaz Ahmed brought their chase back to life in the last 3 overs. SunRisers needed 60 runs in the last 3 overs and the contest looked dead and buried.

KLAASEN MADNESS NOT ENOUGH
However, the emotions in the two dug-outs at the Eden Gardens changed drastically as Heinrich Klaasen launched into the Kolkata Knight Riders bowling attack, sending them into orbit. The South African superstar decimated IPL’s most expensive player, Mitchell Starc, who conceded 53 runs in his quota of 4 overs without taking a wicket. Klaasen tore into Starc in the penultimate over of the contest, smashing 26 runs off it and bringing the equation down to 13 from the last 6 deliveries of the contest.

However, Harshit Rana, 22-year-old fast bowler from Delhi, held his nerves and delivered a superb final over, picking the wickets of Klaasen and Shahbaz to deliver 2 crucial points for his team. Gambhir, who was sitting nervously in the dugout, had a smile back on his face as he walked out to the middle for the customary post-match routines.

On a day when 412 runs were scored, Sunil Narine’s figures of 1 for 19 in 4 overs stand out, but his effort was overshadowed by the late drama at the Eden Gardens.

Heinrich Klaasen hit 8 sixes, proving yet again why he is the best modern-day finisher in T20I cricket. When SunRisers Hyderabad looked dead and buried 149 for 5 at the end of the 17th over in their chase of 209, it seemed one man hadn’t given up hope. Klaasen effortlessly hit sixes against Varun Chakravarthy, who leaked 21 runs in the 18th over.

Mitchell Starc was not spared as the Australian fast bowler’s much-expected return to the IPL did not go as desired. The left-arm pacer was hit with contempt as he conceded 26 runs in the 19th over.

Harshit Rana, who was not able to keep his emotions under check when he dismissed Mayank Agarwal and gave him an animated send-off, held his nerves when it mattered the most. Certainly, Sunil Gavaskar, who criticised Harshit for his send-off, must have been happy seeing the Delhi pacer rise up to the occasion.

ANDRE RUSSELL ROLLS BACK THE CLOCK

Kolkata Knight Riders, who were sent into bat, slipped to 32 for 3 and then 51 for 4 in a horror start that saw captain Shreyas Iyer depart for a two-ball duck. KKR’s move to send Sunil Narine to open the innings did not work as he was run out for 2. Venkatesh Iyer fell for 7 but KKR’s new recruit Phil Salt got going to lead their revival with a quickfire fifty.

Russell was in imperious form, connecting them wonderfully well as he hit more than one 100-meter six at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.

Russell and Rinku Singh added 81 runs together as the Knight Riders hit 75 runs in the last 5 overs. Russell walked into the bat in the 14th over. The big-hitter switched gears in the 16th over bowled by spinner Mayank Markande, launching the youngster into the park as many as 3 times. Russel was nearly caught at long-off in the same over, but Aiden Markram was not able to collect it cleanly after putting in a forward dive.

Russell launched into veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the next over, adding another six to his tally. The 19th over proved costly for SunRisers as Bhuvneshwar Kumar leaked as many as 26 runs, 25 of them coming from Russell’s blade.