The Indian Premier League 2019 has taken off and Twenty20 cricket is the main topic of discussion at every cricket forum. The game has a huge fan following and the popularity graph continues to rise. It is all about belting the ball to all corners of the grounds and at times over the boundary ropes. The game changes pace every minute and can spring surprises as happened during Match No. 2 between Kolkata Knight Riders KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad SRH. The venue was Eden Gardens, Kolkata, the home ground of KKR.

Sports NDTV reports Dinesh Karthik, the captain of KKR, won the toss and put the opposition, SRH to bat first.

That is what the winning captain usually does because that way he can know the target he has to chase and can plan his defense strategy. SRH put up a good total of 181/3 after 20 overs but it was not enough. KKR all-rounder Andre Russell played spoilsport and denied SRH a win.

It was a tough fight

It was a hot Sunday afternoon and the Eden Gardens at Kolkata had a capacity crowd. David Warner opened the innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad and got his team off to a flying start. There was a flurry of boundaries and over boundaries as is normal in Twenty20 cricket, the shortest version of cricket.

The spinners of KKR were helpless in the onslaught and the captain had to rely on his fast bowlers to stem the flow of runs.

KKR had to chase down a total of 181 which they had to score at a rate of at least nine runs per over – not an easy task.

Sports NDTV says it was Andre Russell who finally saved the day by a series of fours and sixes to bring smiles to the faces of the Kolkata Knight Riders fans.

IPL matches must have nail-biting finish

According to Business Standard, the explosive 49 runs of Andre Russell put into the shade the 85-run knock of David Warner. He hit three sixes and nine boundaries in his 53-ball knock and in the company of Jonny Bairstow, his opening partner, put on 118 runs for the first wicket.

It was his 37th IPL fifty. Seeing the onslaught, KKR held back its spinners Sunil Narine and Kuldeep who did not bowl their full quota of overs.

David Warner’s team, Sunrisers Hyderabad. had a leash on the game until 17 overs and KKR needed 53 runs from the last three overs for a win. That is when Russell, the powerful Jamaican of Kolkata Knight Riders came on the scene and snatched the game away with his power-packed game. He hammered four sixes and an equal number of boundaries and bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in for a severe hammering. He conceded 19 runs in the penultimate over. In the end, the home team won with two balls to spare.
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