Having raised the score-ceiling in IPL over the last few years, Sunrisers Hyderabad threatened to breach the 300-mark at one stage of their innings in Mullanpur. However, Punjab Kings put a woeful Powerplay behind them to keep the score down to 219. Thereafter, their own batters took centrestage to decimate the orange army, setting up a facile six-wicket win on Saturday, April 11.
Punjab Kings have now scripted three successful run-chases and they remain second on the points table. Their top four batters are in tremendous touch and Punjab Kings have all the bases covered. Sunrisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, have posted 200+ totals thrice this season but have managed to win only one of those contests. They ended up on the wrong side today despite the openers, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, firing in the PowerPlay. They need to find a way to strengthen their bowling as it is costing them crucial points.
Brad Haddin, the assistant coach of Punjab Kings, put forth his thoughts on the run-fest. “Well, I’m glad I’m not a bowler in the first six overs. That’s for sure. I’d say everyone got their money’s worth tonight. It was entertainment. But I think the one thing we did really well after those first six overs, we stayed calm, and we got the game back, a little bit of momentum back in those middle overs. And having a look at both sides, the way they played in those middle overs, that’s where it was won.”
Both teams fly out from hereon. Sunrisers Hyderabad head home to face the high-flying Rajasthan Royals on Monday, April 13. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, enter the cauldron of the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 16, as Mumbai Indians await.
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 219/6 in 20 overs [Abhishek Sharma 74 (28), Travis Head 38 (23), Heinrich Klaasen 39 (33); Shashank Singh 2-20] lost to Punjab Kings 223/4 in 18.5 overs [Shreyas Iyer 69* (33), Priyansh Arya 57 (20), Prabhsimran Singh 51 (25); Shivang Kumar 3-33] by 6 wickets.
