In a crucial encounter, the two-time champs Kolkata Knight riders were facing the Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR were eager to grab their playoff spot by getting a win under their belt while SRH were looking for the top spot on the table. It was Warner who won the toss and chose to bowl first.

Robin Uthappa gave KKR an excellent start but threw his wicket away. KKR were soon reeling at 57/3 as Gautam Gambhir and Colin Munro followed. It was up to Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey, to take the innings forward. The two went about their job calmly and stitched an 87 run partnership as KKR recovered. Pathan once again rescued KKR with a fine fifty. Once Pandey got out Sunrisers were able to stem the flow of runs and they were able to get back into the game up to a certain extent. With a target of 172 on board on a turning wicket, it was a difficult chase for SRH.

The pitch had slowed down considerably as Gambhir started the proceedings with the spinners. It was Sunil Narine who struck in the 4th over and snapped the crucial wicket of David Warner. Shikhar Dhawan threatened to take the match away from KKR with some powerful hitting. KKR needed their spinners if they wanted to get back into the game. It was youngster Kuldeep Yadav who took the initiative, as he got Dhawan caught in the deep. Narine came back to dismiss Naman Ojha who couldn’t get going. Yuvraj Singh and Kane Williamson hung in there to give SRH some hope. With required run rate going above 10, it was getting difficult for SRH as KKR spinners were not giving anything away. Yuvraj did manage a few big hits, but Shakib Al Hasan got him out trying to go for another big one. From there on KKR had a stranglehold on the proceedings as they kept chipping wickets and SRH were 22 runs short of their target.