In an enthralling Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 contest that went down to the wire, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) managed to clinch a nervy two-run victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Despite heroic efforts from Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, PBKS fell agonizingly short of the target, finishing at 180/6 in their chase of 183 runs.
The victory propels SRH to the fifth spot in the points table with six points from five matches, while PBKS finds itself in the sixth position, having secured four points from five outings.
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PBKS’s chase got off to a rocky start as they lost Jonny Bairstow early, courtesy of a brilliant delivery from SRH skipper Pat Cummins. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then further dented PBKS’s hopes by claiming two crucial wickets, leaving the team reeling at 20/3.
However, PBKS’s middle order, spearheaded by Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza, initially stabilized the innings before Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma launched a counter-attack in the latter half. Despite their valiant efforts, including a last-over flurry that saw Ashutosh smashing two sixes, PBKS ended just two runs short of their target.
For SRH, Bhuvneshwar Kumar emerged as the pick of the bowlers, bagging two wickets and conceding 32 runs in his quota of four overs. Cummins, T Natarajan, Nitish Reddy, and Jaydev Unadkat also contributed with a wicket each, ensuring SRH held their nerve in the crucial moments.
Earlier in the day, SRH, put in to bat first, posted a competitive total of 182/9, thanks largely to Nitish Reddy’s counter-attacking fifty and Shahbaz Ahmed’s late flourish. However, it was Arshdeep Singh who starred with the ball for PBKS, returning impressive figures of 4-29. His crucial wickets at the start and towards the end of the innings played a significant role in preventing SRH from posting an even bigger total.
“Awesome, fantastic”: Sunrisers skipper Cummins lauds Nitish Reddy for all-round show in win against Punjab
After his side held their nerve to eke out a narrow win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins reserved high praise for all-rounder Nitish Reddy for his stellar show that proved to be the difference between the two teams in the end.
Despite a valiant fightback from Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma after the loss of early wickets, Punjab Kings (PBKS) fell two runs short of another memorable win against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Mullanpur Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, skipper Cummins came out in praise of Nitish, saying, “He was awesome, fantastic debut last week. Straight to the top for the order, fantastic in the field, bowled three overs too. To get us to 180 off his bat, it was amazing.”
Cummins said it was a great game of cricket and despite PBKS bowling well in the start, SRH did well to reach 182 and defend it. He also pointed out that the ‘Impact Player’ rule deepens the batting.
“If you get 150-160, you are going to lose nine out of ten games anyway. We knew the new ball was going to be a key time. We were pretty happy (with our score). We saw what happened with the new ball for them, so thought if me and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) could start off with a wicket of wickets, it would be good. We have plenty of left-armers and right-armers, so just trying to give the bowlers the best chance of success,” he said, giving a further insight into the team’s performance and bowling tactics.
Match Scorecard:
Match highlights:
- SRH clinched a two-run victory over PBKS in a nail-biting finish at Mullanpur Stadium.
- Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma’s late heroics for PBKS fell just short of securing a win.
- SRH moved up to fifth place in the IPL 2024 standings, while PBKS dropped to sixth.
- PBKS’s chase of 183 began disastrously as Jonny Bairstow was dismissed for a three-ball duck by Pat Cummins.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck twice for SRH, removing Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan early in the innings.
- At the end of the powerplay, PBKS was struggling at 27/3.
- Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza tried to stabilize the innings, taking PBKS to 50 runs in 8.2 overs.
- Cummins took a remarkable catch to dismiss Curran for 29, adding pressure on PBKS.
- At the halfway mark, PBKS was 66/4, with Shashank Singh joining Raza at the crease.
- Raza’s counterattack included two sixes before he was stumped by Jaydev Unadkat, leaving PBKS at 91/5.
- Jitesh Sharma’s quick cameo ended at 19, contributing to PBKS reaching 114/6.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 17th over revived PBKS’s hopes with 17 runs, including three fours by Shashank.
- Cummins’ over conceded 11 runs, narrowing the gap further for PBKS.
- In the 19th over, Natarajan was hit for two fours by Shashank, leaving 29 runs needed off the final over.
- The last over saw Ashutosh Sharma hitting two sixes, bringing the equation down dramatically.
- Despite the late assault, PBKS ended at 180/6, just two runs shy of the target.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the standout bowler for SRH with 2/32.
- Nitish Reddy’s 64 off 37 balls set up a competitive total for SRH.
- Arshdeep Singh’s 4-29 helped restrict SRH to 182/9.
Brief score:
- Sunrisers Hyderabad 182/9 (Nitish Reddy 64, Abdul Samad 25; Arshdeep Singh 4-29)
- Punjab Kings: 180/6 (Shashank Singh 46, Ashutosh Sharma 33, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/32).
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