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SRH vs KXIP: 3 closest encounters

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Leading from the front[Pc: Live.outlook.com]
Leading from the front[Pc: Live.outlook.com]

Match #22 of the Dream 11 IPL will see the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Both teams occupy the bottom half of the IPL points table and will be hoping to move up the table by securing two points.

If their past IPL encounters are anything to go by, SRH will be the clear favorites to win the match. In the 14 times these two teams have faced off, SRH has been victorious ten times while KXIP has managed just four wins.

However, with fresh faces and different conditions in IPL 2020, the stats will not have much of a bearing on the game. Before the two struggling teams take to the field against each other in IPL 2020, we look at three of the closest encounters between the teams in previous editions of the IPL.

3) Match #19, IPL 2017: SRH bt. KXIP by five runs

Champion performers[Pc: IPLT20.com]
Champion performers[Pc: IPLT20.com]

Final scores:

  • SRH: 159/6 (20 overs)
  • KXIP: 154/10 (19.4 overs)

SRH has got a reputation of being the IPL team capable of defending low totals. When captain David Warner (70* from 54) did not find support from the other end, he played an uncharacteristically subdued innings to help his team to a total of 159/6.

Rashid Khan smashed a six off the final delivery of SRH's innings, which ultimately turned out to be the difference between the two teams.

In response, Bhuvenshwar Kumar ran through the KXIP batters. Despite losing wickets, KXIP was 144/7 at the end of the 18th over. Manan Vohra was batting beautifully on 95 (49) and KXIP would have been confident of getting 16 runs off the last 12 deliveries.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled the 19th over, giving away just five runs in exchange for two wickets, including that of Manan Vohra, to complete a fantastic 5-wicket haul.

This left KXIP with only one wicket in hand and 11 runs to score in the final over. Siddarth Kaul rattled the timber of Ishant Sharma's bat in the final over to hand SRH a five-run IPL win.

2) Match #46, IPL 2016: SRH bt. KXIP by seven wickets

Classic yet destructive[Pc: IPLT20.com]
Classic yet destructive[Pc: IPLT20.com]

Final scores:

  • KXIP: 179/4 (20 overs)
  • SRH: 180.3 (19.4 overs)

This was one of the games where the Man of the Match belonged to the losing side. Hashim Amla's 96 (56) catapulted KXIP to an impressive 179/4. David Miller provided the finishing touches of the innings with a quick 20*(9).

SRH started strongly with their opening partnership scoring 68 runs from the first eight overs. David Warner departed after a well-made 52 (41) and SRH's innings slowly slipped below the asking rate. With 39 runs needed off the last three overs and two relatively new batters at the crease, the match was at an interesting stage.

Sandeep Sharma bowled the 18th over and was taken to the cleaners by Yuvraj Singh and Ben Cutting, who plundered 19 runs off the over. The 19th over saw an additional eleven runs scored, leaving SRH needing nine runs from the final over.

A monstrous six from Yuvraj Singh off the second ball in the final over killed KXIP's hopes of a victory. Both batters completed the formalities to get the result for their team with two balls to spare.

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1) Match #22, IPL 2019: KXIP bt. SRH by six wickets

Eternally destructive[Pc: IPLT20.com]
Eternally destructive[Pc: IPLT20.com]

Final score:

  • SRH: 150/4 (20 overs)
  • KXIP: 151/4 (20 overs)

David Warner was once again the rock in SRH's batting lineup, scoring 70*(62). The other SRH batsmen struggled to match Warner's performance and SRH missed out on a big total.

KL Rahul (71* from 53) and Mayank Agarwal (55 from 43), the current dangerous duo of KXIP, batted SRH out of the match. KXIP needed only 19 runs from the last three overs and the match seemed done and dusted.

Sandeep Sharma bowled a superb 18th over, giving away just three runs and taking two wickets. The 19th over yielded five runs and one wicket leading to an interesting situation in the final over with KXIP needing 11 runs.

The batsmen struggled to get the ball to the boundary but the chase was reduced to six runs needed from the last three balls. KL Rahul clubbed the fourth ball back over the bowler's head for a four to elevate the pressure. David Warner, of all people, fumbled the next ball and allowed the Punjab batters to scamper for two runs.

KXIP's captain Ravichandran Ashwin's own words at the press conference were, "Too close for comfort, to be brutally honest."

The two teams have certainly had some thrilling encounters in the past, so fans won't be surprised if game #22 of the Dream 11 IPL has a nail-biting finish as well.

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