Sunrisers bowlers restrict Kolkata to a modest 138/8

Kolkata, April 14: A splendid bowling show spearheaded by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped Sunrisers Hyderabad restrict Kolkata Knight Riders to a modest 138/8 in a rain-interrupted IPL match here on Saturday.

In reply, Sunrisers were 46 for 2 from six overs when this edition went to bed.

Earlier, returning to action after a one-match injury lay-off, Bhuvneshwar once again shone at the death, claiming 3/26 as KKR’s rejigged batting order looked in a complete disarray.

Opting to bowl after winning the toss, SRH’s overseas duo of Billy Stanlake (2/21) and Shakib Al Hasan (2/22) put the brakes in the middle overs, triggering a collapse after a one-hour rain delay.

An integral part of KKR’s twin-IPL winning campaigns, Shakib became the thorn against his former team and young Australian pacer Stanlake gave him a fine support.

The left-arm spinner from Bangladesh took the two key wickets of Chris Lynn (49 off 34 balls; 7x4, 1x6) and Sunil Narine (9) to play a big role in restricting KKR to a small total.

Lynn was the lone KKR crusader in the middle but a sensational diving catch by Shakib off his own bowling denied the Australian a half-century as the star Bangladeshi cricketer once again did his job in the middle overs.

Bhuvenshwar gave the first breakthrough by dismissing Robin Uthappa (3) in the third over after a successful use of DRS.

KKR showed defensive strategy early on to hold back their in-form opener Narine, a move that did not help much as their batting order did not seem convincing with U-19 World Cup winner Shivam Mavi coming in at No. 7.

Bhuvneshwar’s breakthrough and a tidy two-run over by Stanlake had KKR struggling for 23/1 in four overs before Lynn and Rana seized the momentum in two overs off Siddharth Kaul and Rashid Khan who leaked 14 and 12 overs respectively in their first overs.

KKR were looking good with Lynn and Rana in the middle before rain stopped the play at the score of 52/1 in seven overs. — PTI Brief scores (1st innings only): Kolkata Knight Riders 138/8 (C. Lynn 49, B. Kumar 3/26).