KKR defeated SRH in their opening match of IPL 2024 by 4 runs at the Eden Garden in Kolkata.
New Delhi: Harshit Rana defended 13 runs in the final over to lead Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders to a thrilling 4-run win against Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 3 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on March 23. Rana took charge and got the wickets of both set batters Shabaz Ahmed and Heinrich Klaasen in the final over to ensure the hosts a stunning victory.
Ramandeep Singh, who also played a crucial role in helping the Knights post a huge total of 208/7 in the first innings revealed the plan from KKR dugout against Heinrich Klaasen. Ramandeep also thanked Gautam Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar for backing him up.
“I was really enjoying my time in the middle and just to play with intent and that was the plan. Want to thank Gauti bhai (Gambhir) and Abhishek bhai (Nayar), the way these guys backed me really helped my confidence,” said Ramandeep in the post-match presentation.
“The plan from the outside (message from the dressing room for the final over) was to take the pace off as Klaasen was hitting anything that had pace and it worked really well. Really loved the atmosphere in the ground, really electrifying, and hope we win like this,” he added.
Ramandeep Singh hammered a 17-ball 35, hitting four sixes and one four in his brief cameo. He top-edged Cummins for a four and then hooked a short one flat into the advertising boards in the ninth over. Ramandeep Singh followed that up with a big six off leggie Mayank Markande and then swung a short one from Marco Jansen high into the crowd for his third six. A big six over cover off a Shahbaz Ahmed no-ball. His knock was crucial and helped KKR put a massive target in front of SRH.