KKR slip two places in IPL 2022 points table.
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets on Saturday (15 April) to register their third consecutive win in IPL 2022.
A change in the top order (Aaron Finch coming in for Ajinkya Rahane) didn’t help KKR get off to a good start. Kolkata were asked to bat first and four of their top-six batters recorded single-digit scores. Only Nitish Rana’s fighting 54 (36) and Andre Russell’s exceptional 49* (25) helped them to a competitive total of 175-8 in 20 overs.
SRH replied with enviable poise. Led by former KKR batter Rahul Tripathi (71 off 37) and South Africa’s Aiden Markram (68 off 36), they executed their plans well, picked their bowlers, and shot down the target with 13 balls to spare.
IPL 2022 updated points table
SRH are now level on points with five other teams in the IPL 2022 standings. But their lowly net run rate (NRR) allowed them to move up just one position to No. 7 even after recording their third win on the bounce. Their NRR is at -0.196 (much better than almost -0.5 from before the match) and will need another such victory to come into positive territory.
KKR’s failure to secure the two points has pushed them to No. 4 from No. 2. Their NRR has been exactly halved from 0.446 to 0.223.
IPL 2022 Orange Cap list updated
Russell’s blistering knock didn’t help KKR win the match, but it did take him into the top 10 in the Orange Cap race. He’s now placed ninth with 179 runs. Interestingly, his strike rate also reads exactly 179 and is the best among the top-20 batters on the list.
Meanwhile, Tripathi’s magical innings made him the current top scorer for SRH. The 31-year-old now sits just two spots behind Russell, with 171 runs at an average of 57 and an impressive strike rate of 178.12.
IPL 2022 Purple Cap list updated
In a positive sign for Team India, SRH’s left-arm seamer T Natarajan put in another performance reminiscent of his pre-injury form. He picked up three wickets, including a stunning nip-backer to clean-bowl KKR opener Venkatesh Iyer.
This took his tally to 11 wickets from five games, placing him second in the Purple Cap race, only one scalp behind Rajasthan Royals (RR) leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Incidentally, he replaced his opposite number from tonight’s match, Umesh Yadav, who has had a fabulous start to the season and has donned the Purple Cap for a few games as well. But he failed to pick up a wicket against SRH, slipping to third spot with 10 wickets from six games.
