Another Nail Bitter Thriller
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by two runs in yesterday’s IPL 2024 match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur in Chandigarh. Sent into bat, SRH put up 182-9, with Nitish Reddy hammering 64 off 37. He also took a catch, and he got a wicket too. In their chase, PBKS slipped to 114-6. Punjab’s last-game heroes Shashank Singh (46* off 25) and Ashutosh Sharma (33* off 15) again played blinders but were left with a bit too much to do this time. Nitish Reddy was named player of the match for his all round performance.
Top order of Punjab Kings failed again
Punjab Kings got off to a horrible start in the chase, losing three for 20 inside five overs. Jonny Bairstow (0) again perished cheaply, getting bowled by Pat Cummins, attempting a heave. Prabhsimran Singh (4) hit one straight up in the air, trying to take on Bhuvneshwar Kumar. PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan (14) was stumped off the pacer as he jumped down the track. Heinrich Klaasen, standing up to the stumps, came up with some smart glove work.
Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza got starts
Sam Curran contributed 29 off 22, but a brilliant leaping catch by Cummins off T Natarajan sent him on his way. Sikandar Raza (28 off 22) also got a start but scooped a slower ball off Jaydev Unadkat to the keeper. Jitesh Sharma (19) was the next to go, holing out to deep square leg off Reddy. At 114-6, the game seemed in Hyderabad’s pocket.
Shashank and Ashutosh new brothers of destruction
Shashank and Ashutosh, though, almost pulled off an encore of their heroics against Gujarat Titans. Twenty-nine runs were needed off the last over bowled by Unadkat. Sharma hammered two sixes, both dropped catches that were palmed over the boundary. There was another dropped catch off the penultimate ball. Shashank launched the last ball for a maximum, but Punjab Kings fell tantalizingly short.
Nitish Reddy shines for SRH with maiden fifty
Sent into bat by Punjab, Hyderabad lost four wickets for 64, but Reddy played an excellent knock to lift them past the 180-run mark, which made a big difference in the end. Opener Travis Head (21 off 15) attempted to go after almost every ball and ended up miscuing a big hit off Arshdeep Singh. In the same over, Aiden Markram (0) nicked one in the channel.
Abdul Samad also contributed well
Abhishek Sharma (16 off 11) slammed a six and four off Curran in the fifth over, but the bowler had the last laugh, as Sharma mistimed the next ball. Rahul Tripathi came in as the Impact Player but was out for 11 off 14, caught behind as he attempted an upper cut off Harshal Patel. Reddy, though, lifted SRH with a brilliant exhibition of clean-hitting. He struck four fours and five sixes to ensure that Hyderabad finished with a competitive score. Abdul Samad also chipped in with a handy 25 off 12.
Kevin Varchand