Heinrich Klaasen’s half-century guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 65-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Blessing Muzarabani took 4/41, but Klaasen’s 52 off 35 balls held Hyderabad’s innings together as they posted 226/8 after KKR chose to bowl first. Chasing the target, KKR struggled and were bowled out for 161.
This was their second consecutive defeat after losing to Mumbai Indians in the opener at the Wankhede.
KKR’s batting-heavy line-up, including Finn Allen, IPL’s costliest overseas buy Cameron Green (Rs 25.20 crore), Rinku Singh, and Sunil Narine, failed to build partnerships. They lasted just 16 overs, and their spin attack underperformed.
Varun Chakravarthy conceded 25 runs in one over and finished with 0/31 from two overs. Narine ended wicketless from four overs. For SRH, Jaydev Unadkat took 3/21 in three overs, including the wicket of Rahane.
Ehsan Malinga (2/14 in two overs) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/17 in two overs) also contributed. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane managed eight off 10 balls. Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi top-scored with 52 off 29 balls, but received little support.
Finn Allen started well with 28 off seven balls but fell to Harsh Dubey. Cameron Green was run out for two after a mix-up with Raghuvanshi. Malinga stopped the ball with his foot while Green was off the crease.
Review showed Green had not crossed, confirming his dismissal. Raghuvanshi later fell to another run-out, reflecting KKR’s problems. Half the side was dismissed soon after Anukul Roy’s wicket.
Rinku Singh briefly resisted with 35 off 25 balls, but his dismissal to Reddy ended the chase. Klaasen rebuilt Hyderabad’s innings after a middle-order collapse from 110/1 in eight overs to 118/4 in 9.2 overs.
He rotated strike and ran hard, keeping the run rate near 11 per over alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy (39 off 24) in a 82-run partnership off 53 balls.
Klaasen struck four fours and a six in his 52, following the pace set by openers Travis Head (46 off 21) and Abhishek Sharma (48 off 21). The openers raced to an 82-run stand in 34 deliveries, pushing Hyderabad to nearly 15 runs per over.
Head hit five fours and two sixes in nine deliveries. Abhishek countered Chakravarthy with three fours and a six, while Kishan added boundaries. Rookie Kartik Tyagi ended the stand by dismissing Head.
Muzarabani’s introduction in the ninth over, with sharp fielding from Rinku Singh, triggered a brief collapse. He took two wickets in three balls, removing Ishan Kishan (14) and Abhishek Sharma. SRH slipped to three wickets for seven runs.
Anukul Roy dismissed Aniket Verma (1), leaving Hyderabad needing stability. Klaasen held the innings together before accelerating in the final overs.
Vaibhav Arora took two wickets at the death, and Muzarabani returned to dismiss Klaasen and Shivang Kumar (4) in the last over, completing his four-wicket haul.