Chandigarh: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Punjab Kings at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur on Wednesday by two runs.
Chasing a target of 183, PBKS' chances to win the game seemed bleak in the last five overs but some brilliant hitting from the duo of Shashank Singh (46 Not Out) and Ashutosh Sharma (33 Not Out) took the team near the finish line. However, PBKS remained short of the target by a whisker and suffered a defeat by a couple of runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked a couple of wickets for SRH.
Earlier in the day, SRH batted first and were reduced to 39/3 soon but Nitish Reddy played a sublime knock of 64 runs from 37 balls to play a pivotal role in the franchise breaching 180-run mark. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS taking four wickets in his spell.
Live updates start from here
- Over 16-20 (180/6)
It is T20 cricket at its best. 67 runs were needed from the final four overs and it was a daunting task for the chasing side. However, Indian duo of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma stepped up to the task yet again adding 66 runs from last 27 balls to the scoreboard. They almost pulled of the improbable but PBKS ended up two runs short of the target. The valiant nature shown by Shashank and Ashutosh in the middle was praised by the spectators and PBKS will hope that the duo continues their scoring momentum in the upcoming games.
- Over 11-15 (105/5)
Raza played a knock of 28 runs from 22 balls and was dismissed just when he was middling the ball. He and Shashank Singh added 33 runs for the fifth wicket but the Zimbabwean all-rounder departed before it bloomed. Jitesh Sharma is on the crease and he will have a tough task to orchestrate a successful chase along with Shashank Singh.
- Over 7-10 (66/4)
Sam Curran took his time to get his eye in but started timing the ball after a few balls. His stay at the crease included a couple of sixes and he also stitched a partnership of 38 runs with Sikander Raza for the fourth wicket. However, it was Pat Cummins's sensational fielding effort at mid-off which ensured his dismissal. Shashank Singh will now have to produce a similar sort of knock which he played in the previous game while Raza will have to showcase his batting skills to pull the team out of the situation.
- Over 0-6 (27/3)
When SRH posted 182 on the board, it looked like a low total considering the kind of totals teams are racking up nowadays. However, the aid available for pacers is making a difference here and it is not easy to play at a rapid pace. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pat Cummins both bowled superbly taking two and one wickets respectively. Bairstow was clean bowled by Cummins while Bhuvneshwar got rid of Prabhsimran Singh via catch out.
Klaasen moved up to the stumps for Shikhar Dhawan and the ploy worked as the opener was dismissed soon.
Live updates from first innings
- Over 16-20 (182/9)
Wickets kept tumbling for SRH but still, they managed to get to the 180-run mark in the end. Abdul Samad played a cameo of 25 runs from just 12 balls but most of the batters after him scored in single digits. Shahbaz Ahmed stayed unbeaten on 14 runs. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets.
- Over 11-15 (133/5)
Klaasen also walked back to the pavilion as he was dismissed by Harshal Patel. However, Nitish Reddy is playing a brilliant knock from one end and has completed his half-century. Fortune favours the brave and it has favoured Reddy as he was dropped at deep mid-wicket on a score of 51. Wickets are tumbling from the other end and so young Reddy will have to take control of things and take the team towards a decent total.
- Over 7-10 (66/4)
Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Reddy were trying to stage a recovery with their cautious approach. However, the fast bowlers are getting help from the surface and they are capitalising on it brilliantly. Tripathi was taking his time to set in but an attempt at a ramp shot over the slower bouncer from the bowler culminated in his dismissal. Klaasen is now at the crease and SRH are in deep trouble.
- Over 0-6 (40/3)
Swing was on offer in the initial over for PBKS bowlers and they also missed out on Travis Head’s wicket as a result of not opting for review even after the batter had nicked the ball. Both Rabada and Arshdeep produced some beauties with the movement from the surface. However, luck was on Head’s side as he also bagged a couple of boundaries through outside edges. But Head’s stay at the crease was not long and Arshdeep dismissed him courtesy of a brilliant backwards running catch from Shikhar Dhawan.
Arshdeep then follows it up with an outswinger which sends Markram back to the pavilion on a duck. The PBKS pacers are using seam-friendly conditions very well and so they have provided some early blows to the opposition.
- Playing XI
PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w), Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
SRH: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan
- Toss
Punjab Kings won the toss and chose to bowl.
