On Saturday, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) produced a magnificent all-round performance as they outclassed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Garden. Put into bat first, Kolkata could only manage to post a modest 138/8 in 20 overs as the Hyderabad bowlers did not let them settle. While KKR captain Dinesh Karthik lauded his team's spirited bowling performance, he also urged his seamers to learn the knuckleball from SRH bowlers. "Their (SRH) bowlers have a good knuckleball going. They use it to good effect. That's something we can look at and learn from," Karthik said in a post-match conference.
India pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped three wickets as Australian Billy Stanlake was outstanding too as he finished the match with figures of 2/21. Siddharth Kaul was their most expensive pacer, conceding 37 runs in four overs but overall the three leaked 84 runs in a combined 12 overs compared to KKR's 79 in just seven overs.
The hosts three-pronged spin attack comprising mystery spinner Sunil Narine, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and leggie Piyush Chawla gave away 60 runs from a combined 12 overs with Narine scalping two wickets and the other two grabbing one wicket apiece. KKR will now take on Gautam Gambhir's Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens on Monday while the Sunrisers will Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on April 19.