Kolkata Knight Riders sealed the third playoff place by beating log leaders Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets, with two balls remaining.
There was nothing particularly spectacular about their innings, apart from Sunil Narine’s 29 off 10 balls, with four fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 290, which launched the Riders’ chase of 173 to win.
For the rest, it was sensible batting, led by Chris Lynn’s 55 off 43, which included four fours and three sixes. Robin Uthappa contributed 45 off 34 (at just 132) and Dinesh Karthik 26 off 22 with just one four and a six.
The Riders might have been quite pleased with themselves for restricting the Sunrisers to 172-9 (three of those wickets came in the last over from medium-pacer Prasidh Krishna).
They had been looking at a huge total when Shreevats Goswami (35) and Shikhar Dhawan put on 79 for the first wicket in nine overs, and Kane Williamson continued his explosive form with 36 off 17 balls, including one four and three sixes.
Dhawan followed soon after with the top score of 50 off 39 – containing five fours and a six – and became the first of Krishna’s four victims.
Thereafter, no one was able to maintain the impetus, with Manish Pandey propping up the tail with 25. No one else scored more than 10.
