Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 8

That's all from the this game! Kolkata achieve their first victory of the tournament and it has come in convincing manner. They would hope to continue in their upcoming games as well. Hyderabad, on the other hand, have registered their second consecutive loss and they need to improve. The action now shifts to Sharjah for the clash between Rajasthan and Punjab which will be played on 27th September, 2020 at 1800 local (1400 GMT). Join us for that. Until then, cheers and take care.

Shubman Gill, Man of the Match, says the ball was not spinning a lot and it is easier to hit down the ground. Mentions he enjoys hitting the biggies and he has practiced a lot and it is coming off. Further adds it was really important for his side to win, they bowled well and they needed to back it up with a good performance with the bat. Says Morgan was batting really well and they were trying to anticipate what the bowlers were bowling and play accordingly. Ends by saying that he wanted to stay there till the end and take his side over the line.

Dinesh Karthik, the Kolkata skipper, says he is very pleased with the win. Adds that they have been working hard and they deserve it. On him bowling 7 bowlers, he says that is the privilege of having so many all-rounders. Mentions he was quite emotional to see Nagarkoti play. Further adds he has gone through a lot and he is pleased the team backed him up, the management backed him and he wants Nagarkoti to do better. Credits Gill for the way he played and he wants him to continue to play like that. Ends by saying that he will stick to batting at 4 and he agrees that he needs to up his game and do well in the next game.

Eoin Morgan is in for a chat. He says that it is good to get the first win of the tournament and get the momentum. Says that they did a good job of restricting the likes of Warner and Bairstow at the start. States that he did not have to tell much to Gill and he is a beautiful player to watch and is eager to bat with him again. Says that the pitches here are a bit different and it will change given the conditions here in the UAE.

David Warner, the Hyderabad skipper, says that he felt the decision to bat first was correct and they failed to accelerate towards the end. States that there was movement here and there. Says that it got a bit harder to bat in the middle overs. Goes on to say extra 30-40 runs would have been great. Adds that they need to go harder at the top and try to push as hard as they can. Says that they played many dot balls which is not great. When asked about Manish Pandey who walked off the field, Warner is hopeful that Pandey has just a cramp and it is not a serious injury.

Hyderabad did not bowl that bad! They just did not have enough runs to play with. They did manage to take a couple of wickets in the Powerplay but they leaked quite a few runs. Rashid started off brilliantly but could not keep it going. Nabi was a touch disappointing with the ball. They needed a wicket from him but he failed to get the breakthrough. Their bowlers did give it their all but they can't be blamed to be honest.

A very comfortable win for Kolkata! They were dominant right throughout the game! First, they kept Hyderabad down to a low total courtesy a good bowling effort by all their bowlers. Then, they chased it down with ease on the back of a thumping fifty from Gill and a solid knock from Morgan. Both together stitched a stand of above 90. Yes, they were in a spot of bother at 53 for 3 but the two played beautifully and took their side over the line.

There is a slight delay in play as Shubman Gill wants a change of grip of his bat.

DRINKS! Kolkata's game to lose now! This partnership has taken them to the brink of victory and it's yet not done. The two would want to be there till the end. Hyderabad need more than a couple of wickets if they are to get back in this game. They have one over from Rashid and he is probably the only one who can turn this around.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back! He needs to take a wicket for his side.

T Natarajan is back on.

Match number 8 of the Indian T20 League sees Kolkata go up against Hyderabad. The former suffered a devastating loss in their first game while the latter snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory. Both the teams are strong enough to make a comeback and not be bogged down for a long period. Kolkata were defeated by 49 runs by Mumbai and have to perform a lot better than what they did. First their bowling was poor with no one really making a mark. Their most expensive buy in the auction, Pat Cummins had a bad day at the office as he was smashed all over the park. Dinesh Karthik though has shown support for the Australian pacer and has said that he should come good in the upcoming games. The batting lacked power and even the big guns like Andre Russell and Eoin Morgan could not do the job for Kolkata. But, they will not press the alarm bells after just one loss. Hyderabad, on the other hand, were cruising in their game against Bangalore before they collapsed and ended up losing the game. The fears of what would happen if the top order does not do too well came true with focus on that middle order. Warner fell early while Bairstow went at a crucial time and the game was gone. They faced injury issues as well as Mitchell Marsh walked off and has been ruled out of the tournament too. His replacement, Jason Holder, will not be available for this game though as he will be undergoing his mandatory quarantine. Kane Williamson is injured as well and it will be interesting to see if he finds a place in the playing XI, if fit or will Mohammad Nabi get a look-in. They will hope that they put in a complete performance and get their first win on the board. Kolkata might be rusty but they still hold the aces to win.

Kolkata Knight Riders Team Squad -Eoin Morgan,Nitish Rana,Rahul Tripathi,Rinku Singh,Shubman Gill,Siddhesh Lad,Andre Russell,Chris Green,Manimaran Siddharth,Sunil Narine,Dinesh Karthik,Nikhil Naik,Tom Banton,Ali Khan,Kamlesh Nagarkoti,Kuldeep Yadav,Lockie Ferguson,Pat Cummins,Prasidh Krishna,Sandeep Warrier,Shivam Mavi,Varun Chakravarthy

Sunrisers Hyderabad Team Squad -Abdul Samad,Abhishek Sharma,Bavanaka Sandeep,David Warner,Kane Williamson,Manish Pandey,Priyam Garg,Virat Singh,Fabian Allen,Jason Holder,Mohammad Nabi,Sanjay Yadav,Vijay Shankar,Jonny Bairstow,Shreevats Goswami,Wriddhiman Saha,Basil Thampi,Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Billy Stanlake,Khaleel Ahmed,Rashid Khan,Sandeep Sharma,Shahbaz Nadeem,Siddarth Kaul,T Natarajan