In their third IPL 2024 triumph, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated 182 by a steal of two runs.
Shashank and Ashutosh deliver the excitement
At the very end, the heroes of Punjab’s previous victory nearly performed an encore, starting a thrilling, hard-hitting display. Jaydev Unadkat, who was defending 29 runs off the last over, bowled three wides and witnessed three dropped catches, two of which were palmed over the ropes. Shashank Singh’s astute strokeplay was combined with Ashutosh’s physical might.
At position 67 off the last four, Shashank struck three boundaries from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Ashutosh then kept Punjab in the chase with a couple of boundaries off Cummins. After a see-saw game in which fortunes changed constantly, only 10 runs came off the penultimate over bowled by T Natarajan despite two boundaries. This gave Unadkat the opportunity to defend and send SRH home.
Punjab ace powerplay is aided by Arshdeep.
After winning the toss, Punjab made a respectable start to the game. Left-arm bowler Arshdeep Singh had a memorable first spell in the IPL 2024, taking out Travis Head and Aiden Markram in the span of three deliveries in what was maybe his greatest performance to yet. Punjab Kings neglected to examine an outside edge, which may have resulted in Head’s dismissal off the opening ball of the innings.
In his subsequent over, Head was able to unleash three straight boundaries against Rabada. However, Arshdeep countered the punches by having Head misplay a powerful hit, which Shikhar Dhawan, forced to peddle back and across from mid off, took superbly. Arshdeep then slanted one over Markram, who pinched behind, giving Arshdeep numbers of 2–8 in his first spell, when there was still some movement available.
PBKS chip out
Even after Arshdeep’s early attacks, SRH persisted fiercely, and Abhishek Sharma led that charge. In an attempt to maintain the momentum, he gave the bowler the charge and smacked Sam Curran for a four and a six, but all he managed to do was hit to cover point, where Shashank made a nice low catch. SRH decided to bold their batting by substituting Head for Rahul Tripathi at 39/3 in five overs. But even on a pitch that offered some help to the pacers, Tripathi found it difficult to get going early on against Harshal Patel, who eventually took him out. When it was discovered that Tripathi had nicked behind, handing Harshal a wicket, Curran’s request for a review of the batsman’s action was justified. Things went south for SRH when Heinrich Klaasen holed out to long off after mistiming a loft off Harshal.
It is reversed by Nitish Reddy.
At 100/5, just when it seems like the innings would never end, SRH discovered two young people responding to their distress call. Nitish Reddy, a 20-year-old, had been thrown in at number four. Reddy scored just 14 runs from his first 18 deliveries as wickets continued to fall. But in the middle overs, he and Abdul Samad despatched PBKS, using counterattack as a backup plan. Reddy raced to a well-earned fifty with three fours and five sixes in his final 19 balls. A notable shot came off the bat of Rabada, and in his final over, he smashed Harpreet Brar for 22 runs. At the other end, Samad contributed to a 50-run stand that required just 20 balls by hitting four boundaries against Harshal Patel in all.
matched pair at the finish line
SRH lost three significant wickets in the final four overs, but they also managed to score 32 runs, with important boundaries being hit by Shabaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat. In between, Arshdeep ended the over exactly as he had begun, taking two wickets and dismissing both set batsman. Even as the dew started to set in, the final goal of 183 proved to be competitive.
The powerplay sees SRH choke PBKS.
After scoring just 27 runs in the first six overs of the season, Punjab Kings finished with the lowest powerplay total. In his opening over, captain Pat Cummins set the tone by bowling Jonny Bairstow for a duck. Bhuvneshwar Kumar matched that with two brilliant strokes – he first got Prabhsimran Singh to mishit a massive ball, and then Heinrich Klaasen’s deft glovework saw Shikhar Dhawan removed from the game. The chase looked to have broken early at 20/3, but Punjab Kings kept answering back.
Several brief cameos
More belligerence from the middle order was Punjab’s response to the early breaks. Prior to falling for 29, Sam Curran struck a few fours and as many sixes, and Cummins made a nice catch above. However, Sikandar Raza carried on his excellent form, equal Curran’s boundary total in his 22-ball 28, and Jitesh Sharma quickly added a 19 runs. However, Raza and Jitesh both fell quickly after, leaving Punjab Kings with an impossible job of chasing 69 in 27 balls, which Ashutosh and Shashank’s skill converted into a nail-biter.
Brief Scores: Punjab Kings in 20 overs 180/6 (Shashank Singh 46*, Ashutosh Sharma 33*) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 182/9 in 20 overs (Nitish Reddy 64; Arshdeep Singh 4-29) by 2 runs.
What comes next?
While Sunrisers Hyderabad have a longer break of five days before they go to Bengaluru to play Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 15, Punjab Kings stay at home and have a three-day gap before Rajasthan Royals visit on April 13.
