SRH vs KKR | Heinrich Klaasen’s superlative knock help Sunrisers Hyderabad end IPL 2025 with massive win

‌Brief score: SRH 278/3 (20) [Heinrich Klaasen 105*(37), Travis Head 76(40); Sunil Narine 2/42(4)] beat KKR 168/10 (18.4) [Manish Pandey 37(23); Jaydev Unadkat 3/24(4), Eshan Malinga 3/31(3.4)] by 110 runs.

Opting to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off the blocks swiftly with openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head scoring boundaries for fun. Head hit two sixes and a four off Vaibhav Arora in the third over before scoring three boundaries off Harshit Rana in the next over as SRH romped past the 50-run mark. At the other end, Abhishek warmed up with two boundaries each in Anrich Nortje’s first two overs to take the side to 79/0 at the end of six overs. With Abhishek getting dismissed after consecutive sixes off Sunil Narine in the next over, Heinrich Klaasen stepped in to keep the momentum going. He smashed a six and three boundaries in Varun Chakravarthy’s first two overs before hitting a four and two sixes off Harshit Rana to complete his fastest fifty in IPL in just 17 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter continued in the same vein even after Head departed for 76 off 40 balls to take the side past the 200-run mark in the 15th over. The South African batter smashed boundaries to all parts of the ground reaching his century in just 37 balls, the joint-third fastest in the history of IPL, and remained unbeaten on 105 to take SRH to 278/3 in 20 overs. For KKR, Narine was the pick among the bowlers picking up 2/42 in his four overs.

In return, KKR were quick off the blocks with Sunil Narine scoring three sixes and a four off Pat Cummins’ first two overs. But Jaydev Unadkat once again got the better of Narine, dismissing him for the fourth time in six meetings, outfoxing him with a slower off-cutter that went to disturb the stumps. With Rahane also departing after scoring three fours during his short stay, KKR were placed at 59/2 after the powerplay. But the next two overs saw KKR in freefall mode with Eshan Malinga and Harsh Dubey picking up a combined three wickets in their respective first overs. While Eshan ended Quinton de Kock’s struggling stay at the crease, Dubey sent back the dangerous pair of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell in consecutive deliveries. From then on it was all SRH as they skittled KKR out for 168 in the penultimate over. Though Manish Pandey and Harshit Rana performed a rearguard action with a 52-run partnership for the eighth wicket, it only delayed the official result as Unadkat, Malinga and Dubey picked up three wickets apiece to help SRh end their IPL 2025 campaign on a high with a morale-boosting win.