Live Report - Klaasen century punishes KKR

There's only one way to approach the chase, and it is Sunil Narine doing Sunil Narine things early on. Three sixes and a four by Narine off Pat Cummins' first two overs. Some streaky runs too off Jaydev Unadkat.

But Unadkat brings out a slower ball to fox Narine and scramble his leg stump. He goes for a 16-ball 31. KKR also become the third team (after Deccan Chargers 2010 and RCB 2008) to not have a single fifty-run opening stand in a season.

Heinrich Klaasen’s batting was the story of the first innings in Delhi. His breathtaking century – the joint-third fastest in IPL history – came in just 37 balls, a knock that left the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) needing 279 for victory.

Klaasen’s innings was marked by nine sixes and seven fours. His 17-ball fifty, at a strike-rate of 300, and also his fastest in T20s, had already set the tone. From there, he showcased his ability to punish anything short or overpitched. Full balls were hammered straight down too, and he finished unbeaten on 105 off just 39 balls.

Before Klaasen took over, Travis Head laid the foundation with a commanding 76 off 40 balls. Head was in superb touch, racing to his fifty in 26 balls and driving SRH to 79 without loss in the powerplay. His strokes, combined with Abhishek Sharma’s 32 from 16 balls, ensured SRH capitalized fully on KKR’s inconsistent start, and by the eighth over, SRH had reached 109 for 1.

KKR’s bowlers never found a consistent length. Anrich Nortje and Vaibhav Arora were expensive early, while even Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy couldn’t stem the flow in the middle overs. Narine’s 13th over provided rare control, dismissing Head and conceding only a single – the only over without a boundary since the first over. But it was just a brief pause. Klaasen launched Narine for back-to-back sixes in his final over to bring up SRH’s 200 in the 15th over.

Ishan Kishan added a crucial 29-ball 40, rotating strike smartly and finding gaps with minimal fuss. Klaasen kept attacking from the other end, with the pair bringing up a fifty partnership in just 20 balls.

Aniket Verma added a final flourish in the last over with a four and a six in his six-ball 12 not out, ensuring SRH’s final-over push was just as decisive. Klaasen’s century arrived off the last ball of the 19th over, and SRH ended on a mammoth 278 for 3 – the third highest total in IPL history. Nortje’s struggles summed up KKR’s night, conceding 60 runs in his four overs, while Varun Chakravarthy went for 54 in three overs.

ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave SRH a 91% chance of victory at the half-way mark. The winner of the match is assured of sixth place.

16 runs off the final over with Aniket Verma joining the party with a four and six for a six-ball unbeaten 12. Klaasen finishes on a 39-ball 105. Nortje goes wicketless for 60 runs. Varun 54. ESPNcricinfo's forecaster gives SRH a 91% chance of victory.

37 balls to get to the mark! Six fours. Nine sixes. Take a bow, Mr. Klaasen!

It's a second century for him, getting there by playing towards midwicket in the final ball of the penultimate over.

A seven-run 19th over has largely ended hopes of a team 300, with Ishan Kishan also falling for a 29-ball 40 looking for a big shot. But the record for highest team total (287) is still on.

Here's the list of fastest IPL centuries by the way.

Klaasen clobbers back-to-back sixes off Narine's final over - he finished with 2 for 42 - to bring up SRH's 200 in the 15th over.

Kishan then ruins Nortje's moderately tidy 16th over by finishing with four and six.

Klaasen then starts the 17th by pulling Varun for six over the leg side. That bring up the fifty partnership in just 20 deliveries. Three balls later, another short-ish ball is pulled for six. SRH 237/2 in 17 overs

Four dots, one wicket and a single. A rare W for a KKR bowler. After Vaibhav's first over that went for two runs, this 13th over from Narine is the next one that goes for single digits. Also only the second over with no boundaries.

Narine also dismissed Head in the over by floating deliveries wide outside off and forcing Head to swing hard away from his body. A miscue off the fourth ball was taken by Russell at long off.

He's gone for a 40-ball 76, and in walks Ishan Kishan, the man who struck a 48-ball unbeaten 94 few nights ago.

And that's the fastest of his career! A strike-rate of 300 as he smacks Harshit Rana for 4, 6, 6 after getting strike second ball of the 12th over. These 17 balls saw five fours and four sixes. He's beaten his previous fastest fifty by a good six deliveries!

He's been so good straight down the ground and he's also punished anything short by pulling.

It's raining fours and sixes, folks. Five sixes and four fours between overs 7 to 10 as Narine-Chakravarthy concede 60 in their first four overs.

Varun's been guilty of giving width, while Narine has missed his lengths too.

KKR turn to Andre Russell, their golden-arm, for a breakthrough but he is tonked over his head first ball by Head. Head and Klaasen exchange more boundaries, adjusting well to Russell's slower balls. One guy is on 75 (36), the other is on 35 (14). Seventeen off the 11th.

Travis Head at his best tonight. Varun drags a ball in the eighth stump slightly short, and Head has pummeled him over deep midwicket. Applause from the dug out and his new batting partner, which is Heinrich Klaasen - not Ishan Kishan - at No. 3. That also brought up the team hundred in 7.2 overs.

Abhishek, meawhile, perished for a 16-ball 32 to Narine in the previous over after bashing the bowlers for two sixes in two balls before that.

SRH 109 for 1 in 8 overs with Klaasen also joining in the six-hitting act. All the KKR bowlers - pacers and spinners - have bowled too short or too full all evening.

It's been head leading the way, getting 38 off those runs in 16 balls. He takes down Harshit Rana in the fourth over with three fours, putting away balls delivered with wayward lines.

SRH 56/0 in four overs. 23 more scored off the next two. That's 79 off the powerplay with ten wickets in hand. Are SRH going to end the season with a monster total?

Back to the action in Delhi. Head saw off Vaibhav's first over quietly, but when Anrich Nortje took the new ball from the other side, he and Abhishek smacked the SA seamer for one six, two fours alongwith five-wide runs to collect 20.

Head then goes six and four to start off Vaibhav's second over. The fourth ball goes for another six. The over costs Vaibhav 19.

Here's a snapshot of the second and third over. SRH 41/0 in three overs

He captained CSK to a win in Ahmedabad earlier today, in the team's last match of the season. Harsha Bhogle asked MS Dhoni if he's coming back next year. This is what he said (not verbatim):

It has been a disappointing season, by their high standards, for Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Last year, Travishek averaged 49.4 as a partnership and had a strike rate of 224.

This season, it's 27.1 and 154, respectively.

Vaibhav Arora has troubled Head in the past. Abhishek has been better against him. What will happen in this powerplay?

Toss Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and chose to bat vs Kolkata Knight Riders

In all six previous tosses at this venue this season, captains had opted to chase. However, when Pat Cummins won the toss for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for their final game of the season, he chose to bat first.

Stating that he expected the pitch to be good for batting in both innings, he said the team wanted to end the season by playing consistent cricket. There were no changes to the SRH batting-first XI from their win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane said he would've bowled first anyway since the last two matches at this venue were won by the chasing team "easily." This is their first outing since their defeat to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 7 since their fixture against RCB was washed out on May 17. It is their final game of the season too.

Manish Pandey, who played against CSK to replace the injured Venkatesh Iyer, has kept his place in the KKR bowling-first XI. Angkrish Raghuvanshi is their expected impact player. Quinton de Kock replaced Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Why did SRH disappoint this season? Here's what our experts on Time:Out feel