'Much needed'- Fans praise Kolkata as they beat Hyderabad to keep their playoff hopes alive

Kolkata beat Hyderabad by 54 runs in the 61st match of the Indian T20 League 2022. The win was very crucial for the team to keep their playoff hopes alive. A perfect bowling display never let Hyderabad settle during their chase. With the victory, Kolkata climbed to the sixth position on the points table.

Winning the toss, Kolkata decided to bat first at the MCA Stadium. To begin with, the wicket appeared to be suitable for batting. After losing Venkatesh Iyer (seven) early on, Nitish Rana (26) and Ajinkya Rahane (28) built a good partnership. They added 48 runs together before Umran Malik dismissed both in the same over. After eight overs, the Shreyas Iyer-led side scored 72 runs in eight overs.

Following that, Kolkata lost two more wickets in quick succession. However, a partnership between Sam Billings and Andre Russell helped them get some momentum. They kept the scoreboard ticking and scored a few boundaries. The duo added 63 runs for the sixth-wicket partnership. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finally got the breakthrough in the 19th over as he dismissed Billings (34) for a team score of 157. In the end, Russell muscled a few sixes in the final over to help the team reach 177 runs. He remained not out on 49 runs in 28 balls.

Hyderabad got off to a slow start in the chase. Kane Williamson was struggling to get going, while Abhishek Sharma hit a few good strokes. However, the orange army scored 31 runs in the powerplay after losing Williamson (nine). The players to follow were under pressure, and lost their wickets trying to score quick runs. None of the Hyderabad batters were really able to go on and get a big score.

Aiden Markram (32) then hit a few good shots to keep the hopes alive but couldn't hold for long. Umesh Yadav dismissed him in the 15th over. Hyderabad now needed 78 runs in the last five overs. Towards the end, Kolkata's target proved to be too much for the Hyderabad-based franchise. Besides, they were never in the game. Hyderabad only scored only 23 runs in the final five overs and lost three wickets. Thus, they fell short of their target by 54 runs.

Here are the top tweets of the game

Kolkata Knight Riders' play off hopes alive. Hope @VenkyMysore is not seen around the team till at least the next match!!@KKRiders #AmiKKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2022 #KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/FJJS2mkcq9

— Manash Pratim Bhuyan (@ManashPBhuyan) May 14, 2022

Revenge of 2019/2020 taken

Now completely relaxed

Thank you Dre russ ❤️ and KKR @KKRiders #KKR #SRHvsKKR #KKRvsSRH #IPL #IPL2022

— Syed Faizan Hussaini (@faizi_sfh) May 14, 2022

Andre Russell has been One Man Army fir the Knightriders throughout the tournament and this match was no exception. Best batting and bowling figures in the match.#AndreRussell #OneManShow #KKRvsSRH #IPL2022 #tataipl

— tweetersaahab (@tweeterpanchi) May 14, 2022

This is Andre Russell appreciation tweet ! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💜💜💜💜#KKRvsSRH #KKRHaiTaiyaar #AmiKKKR #AakhriRuntakAakhriDumtak

— Ali Asgar (@AliAsga1) May 14, 2022

Big win! Well played boys @KKRiders 💜💪🏼#KKRHaiTaiyaar #KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/oJlayzm5L0

— Bhartendu Sharma (@Bhar10duSharma) May 14, 2022

Absolutely amazing win this 👏👏👏👏

Really much needed this win to stay alive in playoffs. This win will definitely back confidence and do much better performance in next game. #KKRHaiTaiyaar #KKRvsSRH

— Sangam (@iAm_Sangam) May 14, 2022

Kolkata Knight Riders Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad By 54 Runs in Indian Premier League 2022 🏏#Cricket #IPL2022 #TataIPL #KKRvSRH #SRHvKKR #KKRvsSRH #SRHvsKKR #SportsTrendsCan #SportsTrendsCanada pic.twitter.com/WUkOEKaxTp

— SportsTrendsCanada (@SportsTrendsCan) May 14, 2022

What a night for Andre Russell:

- 49* (28) with the bat.

- 3/22 with the ball.

- The MVP of KKR giving his best for the team, magnificent by Andre. #cricket #cricketshaukeens #andrerussell #kolkataknightriders #tataipl2022 #indianpremierleague #KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/Uqbz74DIrg

— SportsBash (@thesportsbash) May 14, 2022

Kolkata Knight Riders Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad By 54 Runs#KolkataKnightRidersVsSunrisersHyderabad #KKRvsSRH

— SMN Cricket (@SMNCricket) May 14, 2022

5th consecutive loss for #SRH, is another captaincy change on cards? #KKRvsSRH #IPL2022

— Surbhi Vaid (@vaid_surbhi) May 14, 2022

#SRH this season

- LL

- WWWWW

- LLLLL

All or nothing for them this season 🙄😳#KKRvsSRH #IPL2022

— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) May 14, 2022

Congratulations team!!💜❤️ @KKRiders #KKRvsSRH #IPL2022 @iamsrk #KolkataKnightRiders pic.twitter.com/zGbNi8uMIy

— VicKatSRK💜💜 KKR (@nmffriends) May 14, 2022