The first eliminator match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders was played yesterday at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. Kolkata Knight Riders had to face a close defeat by 22 runs with which, Sunrisers Hyderabad secured its place in the second qualifier.
Gujarat Lions, which has already secured its place for the second qualifier loosing the first qualifier, will now have to compete with Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the eliminator match, Hyderebad did batting in the first innings and made 162 runs, competing which, KKR was able to make only 140 runs in 20 overs with a loss of 8 wickets showing itself the way out of this IPL season.
Just 43 in the PowerPlay was an average start for Sunrisers before Yuvraj and Deepak Hooda laid the base for a 150-plus total. KKR started off on a low note. Robin Uthappa could make only 11 runs, Yusuf Pathan 2 runs and Colin Munro 16 runs. Captai Gautam Gambhir could secure only 28 runs as he was out soon with a catch by Vijay Shankar. Now let us wait for the next match to see if Hyderbad could show their excellent performance consistently.