In the last over of Saturday’s exciting match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata’s KKR, captain Shreyas Iyer disclosed that he had supported rookie pacer Harshit Rana to perform against the odds (March 23). With Heinrich Klaasen’s incredible attack having dragged SRH back from the dead for a historic victory, KKR found themselves facing an uphill battle.
Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player in the IPL, put KKR on the back foot with a 26-run penultimate over. Harshit then came on to deliver the final over, defending just 12, but he gave a six on the first ball, thus losing the match for the home team. To give KKR a 4-run lead, the young player retained his composure and deflected the ball’s pace to get rid of Shahbaz Ahmed and Klaasen. He also made sure Pat Cummins didn’t bat on the penultimate delivery.
After the game, Shreyas remarked, “I had butterflies in my stomach right from the 17th over.” “To be honest, I felt like anything could happen in the final over because they needed 13 runs and we didn’t have our best bowler bowling at that specific moment. However, I did believe in him. I was certain that something would occur.”
This is his chance to get to the heroic level. I said it to him. “Remember yourself.” We will support you no matter what occurs in this situation. He was a little anxious when he first arrived to bowl, to be honest. I told him, “This is your moment, buddy,” as I met his eyes. You must utilize it to its fullest potential and give it little thought. It’s okay even if we lose. You simply support yourself and make sure you carry out my instructions and the messages we received from within. There was a large group of players in between, but I did my best to calm him down, and the rest is history.”
Before Harshit’s valiant efforts, the old guard was a major factor in KKR’s victory. At the bat, Andre Russell was at his most aggressive, launching an undefeated 64 off just 25 deliveries, including seven sixes. He took one more wicket later in the innings and, with the ball, broke the precarious opening stand. And Sunil Narine came along after that. During a day when no other bowler from either team was able to give up less than eight wickets per over, Narine achieved an impressive 1/19 in his four overs.
“Behind their back, they have such experience,” Shreyas noted. “Andre Russell, I’m thrilled with how he started and how he played today—both with the bat and the ball—getting those two important wickets while sprinting across the field. And Sunny (Sunil Narine) has performed admirably with the ball over the years, executing as usual. Seeing these two play at their peak was amazing, and having them on the squad feels like a luxury.”
Phil Salt and Ramandeep Singh also made contributions for KKR during the evening, with the latter notably surprising SRH with a breathtaking cameo while they were leading. At one point, KKR were trailing 51/4 when Ramandeep entered the game and blasted four sixes in his 17-ball 35, earning him high accolades from the other team as well. “The SRH head coach Daniel Vettori stated, ‘It was a magnificent innings. Though I don’t think we undervalued him, his plays were excellent and put the burden back on us.
He demonstrated the ability to exert pressure on the bowling team regardless of the circumstances, which is a quality trait in T20 players. let Salt to play his game on the opposite end without pressuring him to take excessive risks.”
Regarding SRH’s foreign dilemma, Vettori stated that the team decided not to bolster one particular position but to select two players for each of the batting and bowling departments. That meant leaving out people like Glenn Phillips and Travis Head. He admitted, “I think it’s hard to leave everyone out.” “I believe the same question can be posed to each franchise. We are fortunate to possess that attribute, but we felt a 2-2 split would work better since we wanted to support the local batting and bowling rather than merely be the best in one area.”
