Backed my spinner to do the job, says KKR skipper Nitish after win over SRH

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowlers held their nerves to deliver skilful bowling spells in death overs to clinch a five-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Hyderabad on Thursday.

"In the middle overs, we bowled a few loose overs and took a gamble with Shardul and Vaibhav and they managed to get both set batters and that is how we made a comeback in this game. We had to get them (Markram and Klaasen) out because if they bat till the end, then surely the game would have gone out of our reach. I had a doubt if I had to go with spinner or pacer and backed my spinner to do the job. I always see who is the best spinner in the game and that's how I decide whom to back on a given day," said Rana in a post-match presentation.

Coming to the match, KKR opted to bat first after opting to bat first.

They could post 171/9 in their 20 overs. Rinku Singh (46 in 35 balls), Nitish (42 in 31 balls) and Andre Russell (24 in 15 balls) were among the standout batters for KKR.

Marco Jansen (2/24) and T Natrajan (2/30) were the standout bowlers for SRH. Aiden Markram, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande and Kartik Tyagi got a wicket each.

In the chase of 172, SRH lost four wickets for 54 runs, but a 70-run stand between skipper Markram (41 in 40 balls) and Klaasen (36 in 20 balls) pulled SRH back into the match. However, KKR bowlers held their nerves in death overs to deny their opponents a win.

Shardul Thakur (2/23) and Vaibhav Arora (2/32) impressed KKR with their bowling. Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarty and Harshit Rana got a wicket each.

For his spell of 1/20, Varun was given the 'Man of the Match' award.

KKR are at the eighth position with four wins and six losses. They have a total of eight points. SRH are at the ninth position with three wins and six losses. They have a total of six points.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders: 171/9 (Rinku Singh 46, Nitish Rana 42, T Natarajan 2/30) won against Sunrisers Hyderabad: 166/8 (Aiden Markram 41, Heinrich Klaasen 36, Shardul Thakur 2/23). (ANI)