After facing defeat by seven wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer said they put great effort in the game but it was a bad day as a 'bowling unit.'
Brilliant half-centuries by Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram, provided SunRisers Hyderabad with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders, in their IPL 2022 match at the Brabourne Stadium, in Mumbai, on Friday.
"Feeling very drained. I thought it was a good total. To be honest, Tripathi came in and changed the moment and didn't allow us to settle. Their bowlers executed the stuff well as the ball was seaming," said Shreyas Iyer in a post-match presentation.
"As batters, we were settled at the end of the powerplay and put a great effort as a batting unit. It was an off day as a bowling unit," said Iyer.
Chasing 176, SRH had a pathetic start as the opening batter Abhishek Sharma was bowled out by Pat Cummins with just 3 runs on the board in two overs. Tripathi joined skipper Kane Williamson on the crease to steady the innings.
KKR got another breakthrough when Andre Russell dismissed Williamson for 17 runs, with the team's total at 39/2 in the sixth over. But the skipper's departure did not affect Tripathi's intentions as he had other plans in his mind.
The 31-year old batter was joined by Markram and the duo started thrashing the KKR bowlers to every corner of the ground. Tripathi scored his half-century in just 21 balls and provided SRH with great momentum.
On the other hand, Markram played a steady innings and the duo took SRH across the 100-run mark in just 11 overs. Markram scored his half-century in 31 balls and smashed two sixes back-to-back and brought his side to victory with 13 balls to spare.
