‘Mystery hai bhai mystery hai’ – Fans react as KKR successfully defend 171-run total against SRH in IPL 2023

In the 47th match of the Indian Premier League 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders faced Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. In their reverse fixture, SRH failed to reverse the results as KKR beat them by five runs. Riding on Varun Chakrabarthy’s amazing bowling performance, KKR restricted the home team to 166 in 20 overs.

Earlier, after winning the toss, KKR skipper Nitish Rana opted to bat first on a slow track. His decision didn’t go well with the team as KKR lost three wickets in the powerplay only. Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer were dismissed by Marco Jansen, while Karthik Tyagi dismissed Jason Roy.

Roy, in his innings, scored 20 runs off 19 balls with the help of four boundaries. On the other hand, Gurbaz registered a golden duck as Jansen dismissed him on the very first ball.

However, after their departure, skipper Nitish Rana, along with Rinku Singh, added 61 runs for the fourth wicket. Rinku scored 46 runs off 35 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six before getting dismissed by T Natrajan. On the other hand, Rana scored 42 runs off 31 balls with the help of three boundaries and as many sixes.

In the end, Andre Russell and Anukul Roy helped KKR to register a competitive total of 171/9 in 20 overs. For SRH, T Natrajan and Jansen clinched two wickets each, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Karthik Tyagi, Markram, and Mayank Markandey clinched a wicket each too.

KKR clinched the last balls thriller

Chasing 172 proved to be the biggest task for the hosts. Opener Mayank Agarwal and Abhishek Sharma added 29 runs in the first three overs. Agarwal scored 18 runs off 11 balls with the help of two boundaries and a six before getting dismissed by Harshit Rana. After his departure, Abhishek also departed after scoring 9 runs off 10 balls. He was dismissed by Shardul Thakur.

Soon SRH was crumbling at 54/4 in 6.2 overs. Skipper Aiden Markram along with Henrich Klaasen added 70 runs for the fifth wicket and pulled SRH back in the game. Klaasen scored 36 runs off 20 balls with the help of a boundary and three sixes. On the other hand, Markram scored 41 runs off 40 balls with the help of four boundaries. Both were dismissed by Thakur and Vaibhav Arora, respectively.

After their departure, SRH never looked in the game and lost the match by five runs on the last ball. For KKR, Shardul Thakur and Vaibhav Arora clinched two wickets each while Harshit Rana, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy and Varun Chakravarthy clinched a wicket each too.

Here is how fans react to KKR’s amazing victory: