Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ended a season of 'what ifs' on a note of triumph with a resounding batting performance reminiscent of their explosive beginning. On Sunday at half-full Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, SRH thumped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 110 runs, led by Heinrich Klaasen's breathtaking 37-ball century.
The season opener had witnessed SRH score a record 286 against Rajasthan Royals, and on this day too, Klaasen (105* off 39 balls) and Travis Head (76 off 40 balls) provided fireworks once again. Head, as if he saved his best for the finale, and Klaasen joined hands to take the 'Orange Army' to a strong 278 for 3 in their 20 overs.
Although the Kotla pitch was a paradise for batters, KKR never got into the game, scoring just 168 runs as they were bowled out in 18.4 overs. Jaydev Unadkat took the initial breakthroughs with acute pace changes, taking 2 wickets for 23 runs from his three overs.
Left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey (3/34) and Sri Lankan medium pacer Eshan Malinga (3/31) were also impressive with the ball, successfully tearing through the KKR batting order.
Whereas SRH skipper Pat Cummins and his team will regret their patchy mid-season performance, this last show was a reminder of their batting strength on flat surfaces. During the season, SRH seemed threatening when the conditions allowed for their stroke play, but lacked strength when it came to more difficult wickets where they needed to be adaptable.
Ending on six victories and a washout, SRH lost at least two games that appeared within their grasp, narrow margins proving to be too much as they missed a playoff spot.
Klaasen was the aggressor with his attacking style — getting to his fifty in 18 balls after walking in after the fall of opener Abhishek Sharma (32 off 16). The South African maintained the rhythm after Head fell, hitting seven fours and nine sixes, the majority of them in the second row of the stands.
KKR's bowlers, especially Anrich Nortje (0/60), Harshit Rana (0/40), Varun Chakravarthy (0/54), and Sunil Narine (2/42), were taken to task on one of the flattest tracks witnessed this season.
Earlier during the innings, Head and Sharma set up the tone for the innings by crafting a 79-run opening stand during the powerplay. The Kotla wicket permitted batters to play with freedom, whether it was stepping forward to drive or rocking back to pull.
Head and Sharma exploited early on, utilizing the width provided by the bowlers to loft deliveries over the infield, specifically towards the extra cover area.
KKR's bowling problem this year persisted, both home and away. Their spinners Chakravarthy and Narine didn't have bite on tame pitches, and Harshit's plan of bowling heavy balls and short-pitched balls in place of pinning hopes on slower balls backfired.
Nortje's absence of match practice was seen as he hunted for the correct length during the game and could not trouble the batsmen consistently.
Vaibhav Arora was the lone bowler who managed to get away with relatively less punishment, recording figures of 1/39 in four overs.
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