Sunrisers Hyderabad ended an IPL season of ‘what ifs’ with a power-packed batting effort just like it had started, etching a crushing 110-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders riding on Heinrich Klaasen’s 37-ball century here on Sunday. In the season opener, SRH scored an imposing 286 against Rajasthan Royals and on this day at the half-filled Feroz Shah Kotla, Klaasen (105 not out off 39 balls) and Travis Head (76 off 40 balls), who had saved his best for the last, helped the ‘Orange Army’ post an unassailable 278 for 3 in 20 overs.
Despite Kotla track being a featherbed, KKR were never in the hunt as they managed 168 in 18.4 overs with seasoned Jaydev Unadkat (2/23 in 3 overs) picking initial wickets with his clever change of pace.
Left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey (3/34 in 4 overs) and Sri Lankan pacer Eshan Malinga (3/31 in 3.4 overs) also had a good outing.
SRH skipper Pat Cummins and the entire team is bound to feel disappointed about how they performed in between the first and the last games.
On flat tracks, SRH looked menacing with their batters in flow but on pitches where they needed to adapt and bat differently, they fell flat.