IPL 2019, KKR vs SRH: Brutal Andre Russell assault seals stunning chase for hosts at Eden Gardens

KKR needed 53 to win in the last three overs and did it - that’s the most anyone has scored to win in the last three overs in any IPL game.

Kolkata Knight Riders were meandering along in their chase, Sunrisers Hyderabad were right on top and Andre Russell was struggling to get going. Siddarth Kaul rocked up to bowl the 18th over, Russell, who had sussed the surface by then, decided to take control of proceedings and the biffed 19 runs off the over. (Full scorecard)

Kolkata Knight Riders' Andre Russel bats during the VIVO IPL cricket T20 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata, India, Sunday, March 24, 2019(AP)

He was just getting started, he then gauged Bhuvneshwar Kumar and smacked 13 runs off him and the chase was reduced to 13 runs in the final over. Shubman Gill blasted two sixes to end the chase and KKR pulled off an absolute heist.

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KKR needed 53 to win in the last three overs and did it - that’s the most anyone has scored to win in the last three overs in any IPL game. It was a game for SRH to lose and they lost it. This came after David Warner and Vijay Shankar fired the visitors to 181 in the first innings.

Warner, who was making a comeback, was at his fluent best scored a fluent 85 to set the perfect platform and then Vijay Shankar applied the finishing touch with a bright and breezy 40.

The chase was always going to be a steep one, but Nitish Rana dropped anchor and shepherded the chase perfectly and scored a brilliant 50, but fell away in the final overs. Sunrisers applied pressure with few tight overs in the middle phase as Rashid Khan was at his frugal best. He was introduced after the powerplay overs and stamped his authority on the game.

Robin Uthappa, who came into bat at number three stitched a partnership of 80 runs along with Nitish Rana, but they were not able to dig deep and take the side over the line.

It boiled down to the final few overs as Andre Russell took the stage and bludgeoned the SRH bowlers to seal the deal for KKR.

KKR next take on Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday, March 27 whereas SRH will play Rajasthan Royals on Friday, March 29.

Brief Scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 181 for 3 in 20 overs (D Warner 85, V Shankar 40 not out, J Bairstow 39; A Russell 2/32, P Chawla 1/23)

Kolkata Knight Riders: 183 for 4 in 19.4 overs. (N Rana 68, A Russell 49 not out; Rashid Khan 1/26)