Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 80 runs. Poor fielding, sloppy bowling in the death overs, and the failure of the openers were major reasons for the loss.
KKR vs SRH: Sunrisers Hyderabad's fortunes continue to dwindle in IPL 2025. The team suffered a humiliating 80-run defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday. This was SRH's third consecutive loss this season and their biggest defeat in IPL history.
Kolkata's Magnificent Batting Display
In the match played at Eden Gardens, KKR, batting first, scored 200 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Venkatesh Iyer played a blistering innings of 60 runs off 29 balls, including 7 fours and 3 sixes. Angkrish Raghuvanshi contributed 50 runs, and Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 32. Kolkata added 78 runs in the final five overs, completely changing the momentum of the match.
SRH's Weak Batting Performance
Chasing a target of 201 runs, Hyderabad was bowled out for just 120 runs in 16.4 overs. The entire team looked disjointed from the start. Power hitters Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were dismissed in the first two overs. Ishan Kishan also failed to make a significant contribution. Hyderabad suffered continuous setbacks, and no batsman could stabilize the innings.
Three Major Reasons for the Defeat
1. Poor Bowling in the Death Overs
Hyderabad's bowlers performed well in the powerplay and middle overs, and were on track to restrict Kolkata to under 150 runs. However, in the final five overs, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh combined to score 78 runs. The bowlers' line and length deteriorated in these overs, increasing the pressure on the team.
2. Lapses in Fielding
Hyderabad's fielding was extremely poor throughout the match. Nitish Reddy dropped a crucial catch of Raghuvanshi. Several other misfields allowed Kolkata to score extra runs. Captain Pat Cummins himself admitted that the team's poor fielding exacerbated the loss.
3. Failure of the Openers
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, considered the backbone of SRH's batting lineup, completely flopped in this match. Head was dismissed in the very first over, and Abhishek followed in the second. The team could not recover from this poor start, and wickets continued to fall. As a result, the entire team was bowled out before the 17th over.
Kolkata's Bowling Performance
For KKR, Vaibhav Arora and Varun Chakravarthy took 3 wickets each, while Russell claimed 2. Naren and Harshit Rana also picked up a wicket apiece.
