Brilliant half centuries from the batting duo of Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram set the tone for a Sun Risers Hyderabad victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the TATA IPL 2022 on Friday at the Brabourne Stadium.

The Sun Risers Hyderabad managed to restrict the explosive KKR batting lineup to a score of 175/8 in 20 overs after the end of the first innings. However, the SRH run chase didn’t exactly go according to their plan as they lost their first two wickets after 39 runs.

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This is when the blazing duo of Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram stepped onto the pitch and brought a sense of belief in the team by scoring a collective 94 runs. The 3rd wicket partnership among the two batsmen eventually led to them winning the match with two overs left to play.

Tripathi managed to score 71 runs off 37 balls hitting four 4’s and six 6’s against his former side while Markram ended the  match undefeated with 68 runs off 36 deliveries, hitting six 4’s and four 6’s as Hyderabad came out victorious with 13 balls remaining.

The dew factor which affected the KKR side can’t push away the fact that the Hyderabad batsmen launched a strategic plan for the run chase which included hitting the ball for boundaries from time to time. The KKR bowling contingent just didn’t seem to get any kind of momentum in the second innings.

Tripathi, was in some mood to bat as well. The 31-year-old hammered spinner Varun Chakaravarthy to a boundary and two 6’s  followed by a scorcher of a shot on one knee in the same region in the 8th over to keep his side in control of the chase.

Markram struck Chakaravarthy for a boundary and six off successive deliveries as well and confirmed victory by hammering Pat Cummins to a four followed by two maximum’s.

This victory marked SRH’s third win in a row this season which put them to a total of six points from 5 games so far. KKR also have the same number of points but have played a game more than the Hyderabad side.

If it wasn’t for Russell and Nitish Rana who gave KKR the boost it needed, ending it with two sixes and a four of the final three deliveries, the game would have had a somewhat different story.

(Inputs from the IANS)