Chennai: Half centuries by Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow went in vain as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) got the better of Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) by 10 runs in an IPL match here.
Chasing a big target of 187 runs, SRH were off to a bad start, with openers skipper David Warner and Wridhman Saha falling cheaply in inside three overs.
However, Manish Pandey (61, 2x4, 3x6) and Jonny Bairstow (55, 40 balls, 5x4. 3x6) upped the ante adding 92 for the third wicket in 10.5 overs at a rapid pace.
Bairstow, after taking time to settle down, opened up with a repertoire of shots to keep SRH in the hunt.
However, the departure of Bairstow pegged back the SRH innings even as asking rate climbed up to the 15 runs per over.
Despite Manish Pandey holding one end up and reaching his half century, Mohd Nabi (14) skied Pradish Krishna further denting the chase, when Vijay Shankar joined Pandey to wriggle the team out, with SRH needing 57 in last four overs.
After the exit of Vijay Shankar, the target proved too tall to climb and Pandey left with little support as KKR won by 10 runs, successfully defending the target to get full points and start its campaign on a winning note.
Earlier, blistering half centuries by opener Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathy powered KKR to a formidable 187 for six, despite suffering a middle order hiccup losing three wickets in quick succession.
Following is the scoreboard:
KKR: 187 for six in 20 overs.
SRH:
W.Saha b Shakib Al Hasan 7
David Warner c Karthik b Prasidh Krishna 3
Manish Pandey (not out) 61
Jonny Bairstow c Rana b Pat cummins 55
Mohd Nabi c Morgan b Prasidh Krishna 14
Vijay Shankar c Moran b Russell 11
Abdul Samad (not out) 19
Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-5) 7 Total: 177 for five in 20 overs.
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-10, 3-102, 4-131, 5-150
Bowling:
Harbhajan Singh 1-0-8-0
Prasidh Krishna 4-0-35-2
Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-34-1
Pat Cummins 4-0-30-1
Andre Russell 3-0-32-1
Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-36-0. (UNI)