Sunrisers Hyderabad defeats Punjab Kings to enter the Top 4
Four wins on the trot for Sunrisers Hyderabad! Punjab Kings posted a target of 152 for Hyderabad, who chased down the target pretty smoothly with seven balls and seven wickets remaining.
Nicholas Pooran finished off the game for SRHWith this win, Sunrisers have climbed up to claim the fourth spot in the points table.
SRH pacers made PBKS batters look fragile
Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss to bowl first. Shikhar Dhawan (skipper for today's match) opened the innings with Prabhsimran Singh as Mayank Agarwal got injured in a training session. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan struck early to dismiss both the openers for 8 and 14 runs, respectively. Adding to the stumbling start, Jagadeesha Suchith dismissed Jonny Bairstow for 10-ball 12. Liam Livingstone once again came to the rescue as he stitched a 71-run partnership with Shahrukh Khan in 49 balls. And just then, Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke the partnership by dismissing Shahrukh Khan for 26 and took Liam Livingstone (60) in the next over. What followed this was a stunning and a history creative death over by Umran Malik. A maiden 20th over witnessed four wickets of Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, and a run-out dismissal of Arshdeep Singh. Punjab Kings folded up for 151/10.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in his interview with the host broadcaster, said, "There was no swing, so I looked to hit back of a length. That was my plan against Shikhar, as I knew he would step out and look for the boundary. I looked to hit a hard length and find the top edge, and luckily that's what happened; I looked to play with my field as well. I try to bowl to the batter's weakness or to the ground's dimensions. The wicket and my skills are what I look at. (On Umran) More than helping me, it means I am a target as batters think I'm slower (Laughs). But watching him bowl fast and get wickets is a joy. Hope the others going after me leads to wickets and no boundaries (smiles)."
A clinical win for SRH
Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson took the crease to open the second innings in response to the target posted. Skipper Kane Williamson fell cheaply to Kagiso Rabada in the third over of the match. Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi partnered 48 runs off 31 balls. When the partnership was turning stable, Rahul Chahar dismissed Rahul Tripathi (34) and Abhishekh Sharma (31) in his two consecutive overs. The remaining was done smoothly by Aiden Markram (41) and Nicholas Pooran (35) in the middle as they stitched a partnership of 75 runs in 50 balls to chase down the target and lead their side to a clinical win.
Umran Malik is the Player of the Match for his figures of 4-1-28-4. He took two catches as well. Punjab Kings have their next clash with Delhi Capitals on 20th April, whereas SRH will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on 23rd April, aiming to keep their winning momentum alive.