Indian Premier League 2024

'Now SRH looking a title contender' - Fans react as SRH beat KKR by 23 runs to claim their second IPL 2023 win

Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 23 runs in a high-scoring thriller at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

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SRH vs KKR

SRH vs KKR (Image credit: Twitter)

SRH vs KKR SRH vs KKR (Image credit: Twitter)

Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh's fighting knock went in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their second win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Harry Brook's blistering century and an impressive performance by the bowlers helped SRH beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens on Friday, April 14.

KKR won the toss and chose to bowl first, but Brook proved their decision wrong by smashing the bowlers around the ground. Even though SRH lost a couple of early wickets, the English batter, who opened the innings with Mayank Agarwal, guided the innings with tremendous striking and smashed the first century of the 2023 IPL in his debut. The 24-year-old scored 100 runs off 55 balls, which included three sixes and twelve fours.

All-rounder Andre Russell provided the hosts a breakthrough by removing Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi in the fifth over. However, it had no effect on Brook’s momentum, who together with skipper Aiden Markram (50 off 26), kept them going with superb strike rate. Markram was dismissed by Varun Chakaravarthy in the 13th over, but Abhishek Sharma played a quick fire innings (32 off 17) with Brook to take them to a competitive total. Brook stayed unbeaten on 100 off 55 balls, while Heinrich Klaasen was not out on 16 after a quick finish from 6 balls.

Bowlers gave perfect start for the visitors

Defending a mammoth total, SRH got off to a flying start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck in the very first over, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a 3-ball duck. The visitors gained upper hand after Marco Jansen dismissed Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine in consecutive deliveries in the fourth over.

KKR batters struggled against the new ball as they slipped to 20/3 but a stunning counter-attack from skipper Nitish Rana gave them lifeline. Rana made a decent partnership with N Jagadeesan and afterwards with Rinku Singh to move close to the massive target.

Speaking after the match, SRH captain Markram said: "Feels good winning away from home. Was always going to be a tight game. With their firepower we knew the total wasn't safe. Our bowlers showed character. I was fortunate that we got off to a great start. Makes life easier."

Here's how fans reacted to SRH's win:

IPL Sunrisers Hyderabad Kolkata Knight Riders